Hearts don't sell love
by annoyingeuropeanfemale
Summary: "Think of me as your fairy-godmother." "My what? Okay, you can't even grant me wishes or anything like that. Plus, you're way too young to be a godmother." He paused for a bit. "Can you even do something for my benefit?" "Well, I can help you not get your ass cursed by the witches." A predatory grin appeared on her face. "Also I can help you get laid."
1. Chapter 1

_Or the fic where Derek and Cora come back after only two months of being gone, a fae appears out of nowhere, witches are heading their way because of the Nemeton, there is a lot of panic about the new-found info of the supernatural world and Peter is going to eventually be killed viciously by said fae if he keeps annoying her. Also snow and portals to another world hidden somewhere in the Beacon Hills forest, because that is just their luck._

* * *

It was the week before Christmas that Derek and Cora got back to Beacon Hills. They've been gone for two months, no phone calls, no texts, not even a note when they left, yet they somehow decided to come back, and honestly, no one in the pack decided to protest, because why would they? They were back, it was almost Christmas, and the weather reports said there might even be snow this year, so they honestly didn't care. It was nice having them back. It felt right, and Scott decided, over a very heated argument with Derek, that he will hunt them down if they left without a sign again and drag their asses back and lock them in a basement if he has to.

* * *

"Oh, come on man, I was promised snow! This isn't even close to it!" Stiles groaned (because Stiles doesn't whine, not ever) as he was pointing at the window. Even though this week was a little colder than usual, the soft drizzle outside had no chance in turning into a snow storm, because this was still California, yet Stiles was disappointed. With all the supernatural things that were supposed to happen after the Nemeton was brought back to life, at least there could be a little snow.

"Dude, that's not going to happen." Scott responded him, a little distracted. They were in his kitchen, having a late Saturday lunch before heading to the pack meeting that took place at Derek and Cora's apartment.

Stiles sighed. "I know, stop hurting my feelings." Scott snickered at him, a half smile on his face, and got up, putting the dished in the sink. "We should get going."

"Go ahead, I need to stop by my place first." Stiles waved him good-bye and got in his jeep, Scott not even questioning his best-friend. If he would've been asked about this maybe a year ago, he would've said that it wasn't possible for him and Stiles to be closer that they were back then, but now he wasn't so sure. They've always considered each other like a brother, but now, well now they felt it even more, and it was the only thing Scott was grateful for coming out after the nightmare they've been through until now.

He got on his bike and headed to their meeting place.

* * *

They were all spread around the room, waiting for Stiles to get there so they could start with their business already when there was a knock on the door. Isaac was closest to it, so he got up and headed for it before realizing what actually happened. He turned and looked at the others, who had their eyes fixed on the door. It wasn't locked. They knew it and Stiles knew it.

So who was at the door?

Derek and Scott exchanged a look before their Alpha motioned Isaac to go and open it carefully. He opened it, just a bit, enough for him to see who it was and the one outside to not see inside, and when he did, his eyes widened considerably.

His eyes landed on a 5"7 red-headed woman with dark eyes who smiled at him gently, and even though _wow she is gorgeous_ he noticed the machete that was casually attached to her belt and he gulped louder than he intended.

"Hello, sweetheart. Is Derek home?" She purred, and her big, eerie eyes sent a shiver down Isaac's spine. The door was pushed open more and the former Alpha stood behind him, eyeing the woman suspiciously until she smiled at him, and Derek did the same. And even though Isaac knew werewolves don't have heart-attacks, he was convinced he would be the first to have one, _because Derek was actually smiling at the mystery woman in their doorway like it was the most natural thing in the world._

Everyone in the room was looking quite shocked as the two hugged, even though they tried their best to hide it. Derek let go of the woman, who couldn't be older that mid-20, and turned to look directly at his sister, who was even more shocked than the rest of the pack.

"Cleo!" Cora exclaimed and was glued to the red-head within seconds, both laughing in excitement. The hug session was interrupted by Scott clearing his throat and looking at Derek for an explanation.

"Everyone, this is Cleo." The woman waved at them, taking the sight of the young pack in, from Danny, Ethan, Aiden and Lydia that were spread on the couch, to Scott and Allison and Isaac who was heading to them backwards, so he could see the woman. Surprisingly, he was the one who spoke first.

"What's with the sword?" He gestured towards her belt and the grin she threw him was making him a bit uncomfortable and as soon as Scott noticed that he stepped forward.

"It's actually a machete, sweetheart."

"She's a hunter." Came Derek's explanation and everyone in the room except the two Hales tensed, making a laugh come from the red-head.

"Don't worry." Her tone was teasing. "I'm not here for your furry little asses." She turned to Derek and her look was a bit accusing. "You didn't explain them the rules, honey, I'm a tad disappointed. I thought you were more responsible than this, especially with a new Alpha."

"Well, I didn't exactly have time for that." He tried a weak excuse, but she was still staring at him displeased. "Well, now would be a good time, don't you think?" She headed towards the table, getting the machete out and almost throwing it there as she made herself comfortable in one of the chairs. The pack was now staring at Derek.

"Cleo here is a hunter that worked with my family." Cora nodded besides him, confirming his words. "She made an agreement with them for our stay here. As you probably know, even though we are territorial, hunters don't let us stay in one place. She let the Hale family stay in her territory with a few conditions."

"Only two, actually." Cleo said from her place, and made Derek a sign to continue.

"The first one was that the pack mustn't get bigger than 25 werewolves." Cora instead said. "And the second", Derek continued, "was that we won't hurt innocent people under any circumstances." He didn't look at any of them when he said that.

Everyone turned now to the hunter.

"Of course, the last part actually got a little out of control in the last year." She got up from her chair and walked around the room, looking carefully at each person. "But since I'm such a nice person, I can't possibly hold any of you responsible of the recent deaths in Beacon Hills, even though it is indirectly your fault."

"Why are you here?" Scott finally said, still not convinced he could trust her.

"Actually, why are you here _now?_" Derek blurted. "I needed your help last summer and you wouldn't even answer your damn phone!" She stopped him with a gesture of her hand.

"I know, I know, and then I suddenly call you and tell you to take care of everything because I'm leaving for Europe and don't know how much I'll stay there. Honestly, I could feel your anger through the phone. But I had to leave and you were actually the only person I could announce of my depart." Cleo groaned, and it was almost painful. "I knew you could take care of the Alpha pack. I had faith in you and what you were taught. I knew your family's ways and I knew you will do the right thing." Her eyes drifted to Scott for a second. "I couldn't interfere."

"Then why come back now?"

She smiled at his question. "I was planning on visiting as soon as I got back, but I leave for a few months and the whole state goes berserk." She shook her head, clearly irritated. "I couldn't find the time to drop by sooner."

"Okay, if it will be to your convenience would you please stop talking to those two like we're not even in the room and actually explain to us who the hell you are and what are you doing here?" Lydia exclaimed, arms folded and looking fiercely at the other red-head. Cleo didn't have time to reply because the door opened again and Stiles entered the room huffing, throwing a "sorry I'm late" at the pack without looking at them, busy trying to even his breath.

The red-head stiffened and a predatory grin was spreading on her face, turning on her heels and looking straight at Stiles like he was the main course from a well-prepared menu. When he finally looked up, his eyes landed on the woman that was now standing about one meter in front of him, smiling at him in the most beautiful way she was capable and his eyes rounded even more that the young werewolf who opened the door for her.

"You're Sheriff Stilinski's kid, aren't you?" He was gaping at her, not even a word coming out of his mouth, but somehow he managed to take his eyes off her and look at Scott for help, confused and a bit intimidated, but his best friend just shrugged at him, leaving him to face the gorgeous red-head that was currently tracing her fingers along his jaw.

"Uhm, yeah, I guess. I mean, yeah, I am." Was all he managed to blurt out and his eyes widened even more (was that even possible?) when he saw her get closer.

"You've grown. A lot." She let her eyes linger over him teasingly and slowly brought them back to his flushed faced, perfectly aware of her effect. Leaning forward, she took a deep breath from near his neck, sighing dreamy and only opening her eyes again after she was sure he was bright red. "You smell even better than your dad."

"Cleo." Derek growled and she turned on her heels again, facing the werewolf with a bright smile on her face, ignoring now the confused and somewhat terrified teenager behind her.

"What?" She laughed at him, practically glowing. "He does, he smells delicious." She turned back to the teen who yelped a little and took a step back. "I could just _eat you up_." Licking her lips for emphasizing her point, she turned around, the bright smile in its place, and placed herself in the same chair she stood a few minutes before.

Derek shot her a warning glare, but she stuck her tongue out at him and then looked at Scott, waiting for his questions.

"Please explain who you are and why are you here?"

"My name's Cleo and I'm a hunter." She begun and then laughed a little. "You see, werewolves aren't the only ones who are territorial. Hunters are too, and you just happen to be on mine."

"Beacon Hills is your territory?" Allison asked, raising a questioning eyebrow at her.

"_California_ is my territory. Any hunter who comes here has to check with me first. Even your daddy did." She threw a quick smile at the baffled teen and then continued. "I'm in charge of protecting every human life in this state. There are hunters like me, who keep inside a state or two, claiming it as their own and protecting it, and then there are the nomad ones who travel the country and hunt everything life-threatening. But if they go within a claimed state, they have to announce themselves to the hunter that claimed it. Hunter's code and all that bla-bla."

"Are there even that many werewolves to hunt?" Isaac asked confused and after a second of looking at the teen completely baffled, Cleo started laughing.

"Oh, sweetheart, I didn't say I'm a werewolf hunter. I'm a hunter. I kill everything that's life threatening to humans." She smiled while shaking her head, but when she looked at their faces, her smiled dropped. She glared at Derek, annoyed now. "Really, I expected as much as you explaining the supernatural world to them." His eyebrows went up, but he didn't answer her.

"I'm actually afraid to ask what other creatures you hunt." Stiles mumbled from his place between Cora and Derek.

"This is what I get for involving myself with teenage werewolves." She muttered to herself and got up. "Really, you're werewolves and you never bothered to ask about what other supernatural creatures there are?" She said louder this time, and Scott shrugged when he looked at her.

"It was kind of enough for us to deal with the ones that we've met." He explained.

"Okay, fine. Here's the "Supernatural 101" course in pocket edition. There are two categories of supernatural beings: the species and the creatures. There are six species: werewolves, vampires, witches, sorcerers, shifters and faes. They're called species because there are a larger number of them around the world, but don't except them to be that frequent. Anything other than those six goes within the "creatures" category. Kanimas, ghosts, spirits, demons, angels, you name them. They aren't very common, but there is a chance you'll meet some of them. Then there are the special humans, druids and necromancers, and there are even witches and sorcerers that don't need to be pure-blood to use magic." She looked around the room at the multitude of emotions that were spread on every face and sighed. "Questions?"

Stiles was the first to react, throwing both his hands up, and she made a sign for him to talk.

"Vampires? Really? As in, real vampires with fangs that feed on blood in the shelter of the night?" He managed to sound excited and terrified at the same time.

"Yes, real vampires who feed on blood, but they don't have fangs. More like three rows of retractable teeth. Think of them like human sharks." Now he definitely was just terrified. "But they don't need to hunt at the "shelter of the night", light doesn't affect them in any way."

"Why did you say witches and sorcerers? Aren't they basically the same thing?" Lydia was the one who spoke this time and Cleo turned her attention to her.

"If you ever meet one of them, don't say that. Don't even think that." She warned the other red-head. "They are different by blood, female spell-casters and male spell-casters, and even their magic is different. They can learn each other's magic, but with great efforts. Also they hate each other. Witches pass their powers only to their daughters and sorcerers pass their powers only to their sons. Also they have this rule that never is a witch going to procreate with a sorcerer because God-only knows what could happen then."

"Okay, what about the shifters then?" Stiles asked again.

"Well, werewolves are kind of a subspecies of shifters. Once there were a great number of them, even more than werewolves, but now they aren't that numerous. Unlike you guys, they can shift completely, but they're limited to mammals, and now there are only four or five in the world that can take multiple forms. They stick to canines and felines mostly."

"And what the hell are faes?" Scott asked, looking quite taken aback with all the new information he was gathering.

"Faes as in fairies, dumbass!" Stiles said rolling his eyes at him, but then looked at Cleo for confirmation. "Right?"

"Yes. Even though they're still considered a species, they are almost extinct. Well, the true fairies anyway. There are a lot of other sub-species, but there are only about 50 pure-blooded faes in the world."

"Why?"

She shrugged, seemingly a little bored of their discussion already. "Faes live an incredible amount of time. Hundreds of years, sometimes thousands. But even though now it's easier for them to feed, the metallurgy of the world affects their living-spans. A lot of iron around."

"Iron?" Scott asked, and again Stiles rolled his eyes at him. "Yeah, it's like poison to them. They won't go near it."

"Well, the ones that are alive managed to find ways to tolerate it, mostly through magic."

"How do you know that?" Lydia was eyeing her suspiciously but the other red-head only smiled sweetly at her.

"It's to my best interest to find ways to keep iron from hurting me, isn't it?" Her tone was casual, and she heard Derek and Cora snicker a little when everyone's eyes widened. There was a moment of silence as everyone processed what they've been told.

Scott was the first to speak again.

"Okay, so you're a hunter/fairy that protects the whole California from getting taken over by evil supernatural things and made a deal with a werewolf family, and you somehow know Stiles' dad. But why are you really here?"

"Oh, about that." She smiled sweetly at the True Alpha. "You'll need my help."

* * *

**I have managed to develop an annoying obsession with Teen Wolf and dear god it's driving me mad so much just ugh**

**I will completely ignore 3B with this fic(because I started writing this like late December). Great ideas, no idea when I will actually finish it. Also I enjoy throwing original characters in fanfiction just so I can mess with them. I promise that it will, eventually, have a nice ending.**  
**(Honestly the summary seems better than the work why)**


	2. Chapter 2

"You know why Beacon Hills was established here?" Cleo asked the pack that was currently surrounding her and looking quite curious about her story.

"Because of the Nemeton?" Stiles answered a bit unsure.

"Exactly. Long ago, it was a very powerful place to be, so it attracted a lot of supernatural beings. At first, there were mostly just druids and a few witches, but humans started coming too after a while and it soon became a full town. And while the Nemeton's power grew, the number of humans was also increasing, and they sucked all its power and cut it down until the only thing left was a weakened and almost dead root. Well, until now." She was frowning in concern, clearly displeased with the situation. "With all the sacrifices made, its power has grown again and it's already starting to attract the supernatural. It attracted the Hales before, and after that you and the Alpha pack and now it keeps bringing trouble."

"Well, what kind of trouble?" Lydia asked impatient. "Another pack? Or you don't even know what we're going to face?"

"Oh, it's worse than that. It's a coven." While the others just looked mildly interested and not at all disturbed, Derek tensed and Cora did the same as an instant reaction to her brother.

"How many?"

"At least 10." The red-head sighed, and the worry that was visible in her eyes didn't help Derek relax. "And they might even gather more on their way. They also could have human witches with them."

"Well, how bad can witches be?" Allison spoke and looked at Scott for encouragement.

"Bad enough that an Alpha pack sounds like a walk in the park." It was Peter that spoke, entering the apartment with no care in the world, a smile already plastered to his face. "Cleo, what a pleasant surprise!" He exclaimed and went to the woman with his arms extended, patiently waiting for a hug. When she made no move to get off her chair, he let his arms down with a disappointed sigh. "So I'm not even worthy of a hug?" He asked with fake sorrow and she rolled her eyes at the werewolf.

"The only family member I wish was dead, and here he is." She muttered more to herself, even though she knew everyone heard her. "Unfortunately" Cleo continued, "Peter's right. A witch is dangerous herself if she is in control of her powers, but when they're more, it will end up in complete disaster."

"But what do they want?" Scott asked and was quickly followed by Stiles. "And how do you know they're coming?"

"What do they want? Power, of course, and the Nemeton can give them just that. They'll want it for themselves and won't hesitate to claim this place for them and kill anything that will stay in between. Meaning you guys." She gestured to the pack while they shared worried looks. "And I know because there are rumors, even in the supernatural world. Whispers. And a coven is dangerous and must be treated with much precaution."

"Do you think you can find out when they'll come?" Cora almost demanded and was promptly awarded with a glare from both Derek and Scott.

"I have a suspicion it will be around the next full moon, which gives us plenty of time to prepare for them." She offered and everyone looked horrified in her direction.

"But the full moon is in five days!" Allison exclaimed and Cleo realized her mistake. "Oh, no, no, not this one. It's January, for the love of god, they shouldn't even think of coming in town with this full moon."

"Why, what's with this moon?" Stiles quizzed and then buried his face in his hands. "Please tell me it's not something scary or crazy again." He lamented.

"No, sweetheart, not really." Cleo assured. "January's full moon is also known as the "full wolf moon" and it's the month of the year when werewolves are even more active than normal. More powerful. They wouldn't risk so much in attacking now, especially since they'll have a much better opportunity on the next full moon. The "snow moon" has no effect whatsoever on werewolves, but it affects the weather and therefore the nature, and if they use earth-magic, they'll have an advantage." She explained.

"So we have a month to prepare for them, right?" Scott was acting on the Alpha instinct again, and it was to their benefit. "We need a plan for that. A good one." His eyes drifted from the hunter to his best friend, who nodded acknowledging his newly assigned task.

"Who stays here besides Derek and Cora?" Cleo asked and looked around at the teenagers around her, throwing an angry glare when her eyes went over Peter. The twins and Isaac raised their hands, a bit surprised by her question. "Well, that makes five of you. You need to leave this place. It's a death-trap with witches coming this way. You'll come and stay at my house for the time being." She decided and even Derek looked taken aback.

"In case you forgot, we can't get inside your house." The former Alpha announced in a deadpan voice. "I know it's the safest place in Beacon Hills, but it's safe enough that even we can't go there."

"I know that, dumbass. I didn't mean you move right now, I only said it will be necessary for your safety to get there in the near future. I'll figure out a way for you to move freely. Plus, I just got here, I need to clean that place before welcoming guests." She rolled her eyes at Derek, who was raising his eyebrows in an unspoken question, but didn't comment on anything. Instead, he looked at Scott, waiting for him to apparently say something.

"Why is it necessary for them to go there?" He finally asked. "Is your house that well-guarded?"

"It's surrounded with magic and protection-spells. Fae magic works wonders against spell-casters' magic, actually." She seemed surprisingly proud of that, until there was a snicker from Peter.

"Yes, Dark Fae magic, the best way to protect a pack of young werewolves." His words came out mockingly and he noticed her hands tightening into fists. The others saw it too, and both Scott and Derek glared at the older werewolf.

"What does he mean by "dark fae" exactly?" Lydia asked and involuntary took a step back, half-hiding behind Aiden. The woman sighed in annoyance before responding to the girl. "It's old stuff. Peter here just finds a sick pleasure in opening old wounds." She smiled sweetly at him when she continued. "Perhaps he forgot that I have a sick pleasure in opening new wounds. Or should I say tear new ones?" The older werewolf raised his hands in a defeated gesture and shook his head, a small grin on his face.

"Okay, that being said, I'll contact you when you can move in." Cleo continued and smiled at the pack, then turned to Derek. "Come on, sweetheart, you're buying me coffee." She got up from where she was standing, and so did the pack, watching her move silently over the table and getting her machete. Derek was already at the door waiting for her and Cora tried to follow him, but her older brother just growled at her.

"Sorry, sweetie." Cleo ruffled her hair when she passed her. "Maybe next time, okay? I have things to discuss with Der here." She was almost at the door when Isaac made a questioning "uhm" followed in an unsure tone by "I still have a question."

She turned to the young werewolf and waited patiently for him to ask. "Well, I was wondering why you don't smell." Stiles snickered at that, eyeing Isaac a bit mockingly. "Dude, something's wrong with your nose. What do you mean she doesn't smell?" The boy laughed a bit, but still kept an eye on the huntress, who was now heading his way and stopped impossibly close to him without actually touching him. "Stiles." She breathed with the same sweet smile plastered on her face. "What do I smell like?"

The boy was a bit taken aback by her question and her close proximity, sending her a confused look. "Uhm, you smell sweet." He could see her biting the inside of her cheek in what seemed a discontented gesture. "Elaborate, will you? Think… wolfy. Describe it like you were the one with the better nose, because right now you are." She winked at him and got her face a bit closer. "Well?"

Stiles breathed hesitantly and spoke without looking at her or the pack. "Well, it's that fruity sweet, you know? Like a basket full of fruits waiting to be eaten. Uhm, a pit peachy and plumy? Like, I don't know, I have the feeling that if I take a bite from you you'll taste sweet and sugary." He shrugged, his cheeks already turning pink. "Like fruit syrup, I guess."

"Well, do you want to take a bite?" She asked battering her lashes at the teenager. "Just to test that theory. For science, if you want." She winked at him again and could see his pupils dilating as he gulped.

"Cleo." Derek growled from the door, his brows frowning and her clear laugh enveloped the room. "That's a lot of tension, Derek." She walked to him, but turned before exiting through the door. "Think about fly-traps, Isaac. They have a specific smell to attract their pray, the flies. Same goes for the faes." She smiled at Stiles again, this time letting her teeth show and laughed at the mildly alarmed teen.

* * *

"So, Derek…" Cleo begun, not even looking at the werewolf sitting in front of her. Her eyes were drifting around the small coffee shop that was almost empty, a little late in the afternoon for coffee. "What have you been up to lately?" The small smile she threw him was comforting. She was a presence from his childhood, and even though there were a lot of things he would love to forget, she was calming. She was someone he knew and trusted with his life and it was warming his heart that she was back, that she was the same, that half of the time he could hear her replies before she even said them because he knew her and it was comforting having a familiar presence around besides his sister who could remind him of the happy moments of his past.

"Not much, really." He took a long sip from his coffee before continuing. "You probably know that I left for a while already. You always seem to know everything." He smiled at her, his usual, reticent smile and he heard her laugh. "Wonder why that is." She muttered back to him, amusement glittering in her eyes. "How are you holding up?" She asked, this time softly, almost a whisper, and reached for his hand. He welcomed the touch, but wasn't looking at her, couldn't, because he was aware she read him like an open book. Instead he turned his head to look through the window and started pouring his heart out to her.

"I don't really know. Something… something doesn't feel right. This place doesn't feel right anymore. I'm not even sure I should've come back." He sighed, licking his lips in an old nervous habit. "I feel like something dragged me back here and I don't know why. I feel like it's playing with me or it has a purpose for me. It's weird and honestly, I'm confused." When he finally let himself look at Cleo, her eyes were soft and understanding.

"I felt it too, when I came back from Europe. The urge to rush here for something. Like I forgot to do something really important but can't remember what that is." He could see her gritting her teeth. "Something big is coming."

"Yeah, I know."


	3. Chapter 3

Stiles was, without exaggeration, completely and utterly baffled. His mind was still trying to wrap around all the new information he had because, even though he was the one with the bestiary and the research and he was the one who knew like _a lot _about the supernatural world, this woman just confirmed him the existence of a lot of things he would prefer didn't exist. At all. Sure, in stories they were cool, but witches and vampires and ghosts and fairies? He had enough to deal with already and a fight with a coven wasn't exactly on his "to-do" list.

But he was worried, more that he usually was. Scott was the Alpha now, but he doubted he would've known how to deal with this without Derek and this mystery woman that appeared to take pleasure in making him uncomfortable, so he silently thanked every deity that was listening for bringing Derek and Cora back and for the appearance of this Cleo.

He wanted to do some research, to find out more about what she said, but he found himself completely distracted after only 10 minutes in front of his computer. It happened a lot lately, to feel like he wasn't in the right place, that he wasn't doing what he was supposed to do. He was restless and tired at the same time and sometimes he felt like he couldn't breathe even though he wasn't having any panic attacks. He got up from his chair suddenly, grabbed his jacket and was out the front door before he even realized was he was doing. He stood looking at his jeep for a few seconds before deciding that a walk was better and he started wandering around, not even looking where his feet took him, too deep in thoughts to even care.

A knocking sound made him come back to reality and he looked around disoriented. He realized where he was and before turning around to go back home, he heard the knocking sound again. Turning in the direction where it came from, he saw Cleo and Derek sitting in a coffee shop, the red-headed woman waving him to come to them. He shrugged and carefully entered the café, stopping near their window booth with his hands in the pockets of his jacket, greeting them with his now reflex smile.

"Hey guys, enjoying your coffee?" Surprisingly, both smiled back at him, even though Derek's smile was more of forced one. Cleo turned to the werewolf with a frown.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Make some room for the boy, Derek." She instructed and, to Stiles' surprise, Derek actually moved closer to the window to allow the teenager to sit next to him. The space was quite small and their knees were touching and Stiles could see Derek wasn't happy about them stuck together there by the way he was glaring through the window, but he still smiled at Cleo who was studying the two of them like they were the most interesting people in the universe, a knowing smile plastered on her face.

"You like vanilla, Stiles?" Cleo suddenly asked the boy and he responded with a confused "yeah" to her strange question. She smiled and went on. "How about bananas?" At that Derek shoot her a threatening glare, but she ignore him, focusing on the teen. "Yeah, I like them. Why?"

She was already making a sign for the young waitress to come to their booth. "So I know what to get you." She turned and smiled graciously at the blonde woman who was patiently waiting for the order, a small blush already forming on her face. "A double shot vanilla banana mocha latte, please." The waitress seemed shocked at first, but then returned the smile eagerly.

"An order from our secret menu, that's rare." A small laugh escaped her lips while she was writing the order down. "It seems you know your way around here."

"I'm pretty good at finding my way in new places." Cleo retorted with a smooth smile, winking at the waitress who was now almost completely red. Stiles wasn't sure he could trust his eyes at this point, because it looked and sounded very much like Cleo was downright flirting with the blonde who, he had to admit, was quite attractive.

When the woman was gone to bring them their order, Stiles stared awkwardly at the red-head. "So, uhm, you…" He didn't finish his thought, only made a small hand gesture towards the bar where the waitress was and he heard Cleo laugh.

"What, I'm not allowed to flirt with attractive people?" She offered innocently, but her eyes were glimmering a bit too predatory for Stiles' comfort. "No, I meant, uhm…" He looked at Derek for a bit of help, but the werewolf was still busy glaring out the window.

"You meant if I'm gay?" She laughed, amused by his clumsy approach. "Not exactly." She shrugged, not at all bothered by their discussion. "I've been around for a long time. If I want to do something, or try something, I usually do it. Or, well, him or her. There haven't been exactly any boundaries and I don't have a type." She shrugged again, smiling at him.

"So, uhm… which were more common? Men or women?" The boy asked, even him sounding a bit surprised by his questions.

"I don't really keep track. Men, women, faes, werewolves, vampires, you name them." She winked at him as he gulped loudly, Derek making a sound that sounded suspiciously close to a laugh. "Don't look so disturbed, sweetheart. Like I said, I've been around for a while."

The waitress was back with Stiles' drink and he was grateful he had something to focus his attention on now, because the mental images this conversation was giving him were a bit distracting. He ignored the short and flirty exchange between the fae and the blonde, concentrating instead of the awesome taste the latte had because _oh dear god it was delicious._

"So, what exactly does "a while" mean? You look just about 20-something." The teen continued, glad he could take this discussion to other topics.

"More like 200-something." He choked on his coffee and looked at the red-head with a stunned expression. "Wow, that's… that's a lot of time to try new things." He couldn't help it, the words left his mouth before he had a chance to actually process them, but she only laughed a little and winked again at him. "Tell me about it. The fun part though is that you'll never get bored. Right, Der?" Her grin turned to the werewolf that just huffed at her, clearly annoyed about where this was heading. "He's just jealous because I get more action than him these days." She said to the teen and laughed, causing the boy to choke again.

"That's quite a surprise considering, well…" Stiles cursed himself because he couldn't keep his mouth shut but she smiled at him knowingly. "I know, right? With the way he looks he should be able to find a decent shag, but he just finds this sick pleasure in keeping himself away from pleasures." Cleo rolled her eyes dramatically as Derek growled again at her, Stiles barely able to keep his laugh. Unfortunately, a chuckle escaped him and he could feel the glare the werewolf was giving him. "I would have you myself sweetheart, but once is more than enough for me." She winked at Stiles and this time he felt like the room was spinning.

"You two slept together?!" His voice was a bit pitched, but he was completely shocked so he had an excuse and if his mind involuntary imagined Derek in a dark bedroom well, it was Cleo's fault.

"Yup." She said cheerfully, a hint of mischief in her voice. "Wouldn't want to repeat that, though. I had bruises for _weeks_. But it was a bit worth it, since I called dibs on him." Stiles was sure he was about to faint from what he was hearing and the annoyed sounds Derek was making didn't help either. It all turned very uncomfortable very fast for both of them, and the fact that their legs were still touching and Stiles could feel the heat radiating from the werewolf was a bit too distracting for him, so he just gulped the rest of the coffee down without even thinking.

"Well, I was the first _woman _to call dibs on him anyway." Her voice was pensive, but everything she said was calculated. "I'm still not sure who his first guy was."

Derek chocked on air and Stiles felt like his heart was about to break through his rib cage. He was sure Derek could hear him. Hell, he was sure the whole coffee shop could hear him.

"He slept with guys too?" Now he was sure he'll never get those images out of his head and he wasn't even sure he would want to.

"You speak too much." Derek barked at her but her eyebrows went up in surprise at Stiles' question. "What, you didn't know?" At this Derek was already up and pushing Stiles from the booth so he could get out, and the boy nearly fell flat-face. The werewolf caught him though, and without effort stopped him from falling and managed to get him on his feet, then unceremoniously got out of the café, leaving a very amused Cleo and a very red-faced and uncomfortable Stiles behind.

The red-head got up swiftly and headed to the bar, paying for their drinks and then making Stiles a sign to follow her. He did and they both stopped near a black Toyota SUV.

"Come, I'll give you a ride." She offered and the teen got in the car, still not knowing if he should say something to her or just let it be.

"He cares about you." Cleo said to him after a while, just as they made the turn to his street. He would like to think that, to actually believe that Derek cared, but it seemed downright impossible for the werewolf to display any kind of liking towards him. "Don't make that face. He does. I know Derek since he was a puppy and unfortunately I know more about him that I want. I can tell when he's getting emotionally involved, and it's pretty obvious that you and his pack mean a lot to him. You're all family to him." She sneaked a glance at the teen. "Even more." The car stopped right in front of his house but he didn't make any move to get out yet.

"You sound pretty confident about it."

"I am. Trust me." She smiled encouraging towards him and he couldn't help but smile back. It would be nice to trust her.

"I'll try."


	4. Chapter 4

"Shit!"

Stiles tried turning the engine on again, but with no success. He loved his jeep, he really did, but when it was a stubborn piece of crap that wouldn't start when he had to get to school fast, he'd rather kick it. Cursing again, he got out and slammed the door, stopping to look around for a moment. He was already late and if he had to walk to school he wouldn't make it to the first period without getting detention for being late. He got his phone out to text Scott that he was going to be late when a black SUV stopped right in front of his house, the window rolling down to reveal a smiling Cleo.

"Need a ride?" He hesitated for a moment, but then went straight to the car, smiling when he got in. "Morning." He mumbled to her, and he noticed the worried look she threw him.

"Late night, huh?" It almost seemed unfair how fresh she seemed to be, but Stiles assumed it was from all the fairy magic. Grumbling, he let himself sink deeper in his seat, not sure he should tell her why he was so tired. He wasn't even sure how much she knew about the Nemeton. Instead, he asked her the next thing that popped into his head. "How did you know I was having car trouble?"

A knowing smile spread on her face. "I live just down the street and your anger and frustration were kind of bothersome."

"Wait, down the street meaning that huge Victorian mansion that looks like a haunted house?" That house was there since he knew himself and it seemed to be there long before he was born. He remembered his father told him it was someone's who rarely came to Beacon Hills, some kind of family inheritance. But it was old and sometimes, when he was younger, he would get nightmares about it.

"Yup." She responded cheerfully. "It's been there ever since Beacon Hills was founded. Belonged to my mother and now it's mine, though I must tell you it's a bitch to clean. It's also where Derek and the others will come once I figure a way to get them past the mountain ash circle that surrounds the whole house."

Stopping the car in the school's parking lot, she turned to him with a smile and he couldn't help but smile back at her, with all his tiredness. "Well, thanks for the ride."

"No problem, sweetheart. Want me to come pick you up?" He stopped from his motion of getting out of the car to look at her surprised. "Why are you doing this again?" Stiles couldn't help but feel a bit suspicious about this new supernatural being who crashed into their lives.

She shrugged and it seemed she was thinking about her reasons too. "I generally like humans. And I definitely like you." She smiled again. "Don't freak out though, I won't eat you or harm you or abduct you, or anything you might think faes do, because I know how protective your friends can get and I kind of like my head where it is now. But I like your presence, it's comforting somehow. Also you smell nice." He was a bit taken aback by her little speech, but nonetheless believed her. After all, he did his research and he knew fairies couldn't lie. It was probably the only constant thing in everything he read.

"Okay then." He opened the door again just to be stopped by her voice.

"Stiles." When he turned, she let her hand gently cover his eyes and something inside him warmed at the touch. He relaxed instantly, a feeling of relief washing over him. "See you after school." She smiled at him again and was gone the moment he got out of the car.

* * *

Stiles wasn't really sure what he should do when he got out of the school. When he told Scott about his meeting with Cleo this morning, his best friend wasn't really trying to hide the fact that he didn't trust her. Surprisingly, Stiles found himself defending her and as a last resort pulled the "Dude, Derek trusts her, so how bad can she be?" card, and Scott just gave him a shrug after that and told him to do what he thinks it's best.

He was about to wave Scott and Allison good-bye in the parking lot when a screeching of wheels was heard and Cleo's black Toyota stopped right in front of them, window already rolled down.

"Get in loser, we're going shopping."

"Really?" The boy couldn't help but laugh at her bright smile. "'Mean Girls' references?"

"It seemed fitting." She shrugged. "Scott, Allison." She greeted them with a smile and a small wave while they both gave a reticent nod back. Stiles also waved them good-bye and the car was gone, leaving the pair looking a bit worried after them.

"I don't really like it." Scott mumbled and shrugged and Allison gave him an understanding look. They'll have to talk to Derek.

"So, how was your day?" Stiles asked, finding the silence a bit bothering.

"Ugh, horrible!" Something in her expression made him snicker a little. "I forgot how freaking big that house is and I still have a ton of shopping to do." She sighed defeated and soon stopped the car in front of Stiles' house.

"Well…" The boy wasn't sure what to do, but in the end gave in. "Do you need some help? I have some time, and dad's not coming home before dinner." He shrugged, trying to not make a big deal about it, but he saw how her eyes lit up. "Really? You'll do that for me?"

"Sure, why not? Having a fairy owe me shouldn't be that bad." He made a motion with his hand that suggested they get going. Before starting the car again she threw him the most radiant smile he saw on her. "You're a blessing, sweetheart."

* * *

Wednesday afternoon the whole pack was gathered in front of the burnt Hale family house, the whole spectrum of emotions flickering on their faces as they watched the fae huntress pacing in front of them.

"First things first." She began with no further introduction. "I managed to arrange things over at my house, so you can move in, preferably this week." She eyed the five werewolves that would soon be installed in her house.

"Why do we have to do this again?" Aiden asked and Cleo rolled her eyes at them exasperated. "It's for your safety. The apartment is an easy place to hide hex bags and it will help you a lot if they can't get into the house." She stated matter-of-factly, the twins shrugging at her as to say "Just checking again".

"Now, we discuss witches. The good thing is, they're pretty easy to kill. Do anything that will kill a human. For you, it won't really be a problem, since you have your strength and speed as an advantage. Just make sure you shut them up before they can cast any spells. The problem is you four." She pointed at where Stiles, Allison, Lydia and Danny were sitting and they all looked at her surprised and a bit frightened. "You're all a liability. You'll need training. And weapons. And protection." She stared at them a bit pensive. "Allison, you've been trained as a hunter, right?" When the girl nodded affirmatively, the fae continued. "Preferred weapon?"

"Anything that uses arrows." She answered simply and Cleo nodded content. "Good, that should do. Now you three, can any of you use any kinds of weapons?" Lydia and Danny looked a bit alarmed, but Stiles raised his hand. "My dad taught me how to shoot." There was a moment of silence when everyone was eyeing the boy incredulous. "What?" He snapped a little at them. "I can handle a gun, thank you very much." He puffed annoyed and proceeded in ignoring the others.

"Okay. Lydia and Danny, normally I would ask you if you preferred guns or sharp things, but we don't really have a lot of time in our hands, so guns it is. We'll start training tomorrow afternoon." The easiness she was barking orders with was a bit concerning the teens, but they nodded anyway. "As for you, training starts now. I don't know how much Derek has trained you or" she glanced quickly at the twins who both made a grimace, "what you learnt over the years, but witches won't come to face you. They stay hidden and cast spells to bind you, so you'll need to learn to be fast and stay out of their sight while also finding them." Getting down to her bag, she proceeded to get out some elastic bandage and then dropped her jacket and threw her heeled boots off her feet, wrapping the bandage over her hands in the process.

"Now…" Her smile slowly turned more ferocious as she was letting her eyes wander over the young werewolves. "Who wants to go first?"

Isaac was the first to react, dropping his jacket and stepping forward until he was facing the huntress, eyes flashing yellow before completely turning, the thrill of the approaching full moon almost making his blood boil. Smirking now, she placed herself steady on her feet, muttering a "let's go big boy" at the werewolf who just growled at her and then, without warning, threw himself in her direction. Swinging on her heels, she avoided him with ease, repositioning herself and kicking one of his legs, making him fall on his stomach.

"You still have two chances, c'mon, up you go!" She encouraged, but her face was definitely one of a predator. Snarling, he got up and approached her more carefully, avoiding one of her kicks and then attacked her again, his claws hitting flesh and the smell of blood spread through the air before he hit the ground again. Cleo looked down at her arm and grimaced a little when her eyes landed on the three clear and bloody cuts on her forearm. "Nice, but you only have one more try." And with another smile, she made a run towards the forest, jumping and catching one of the lowest branches of one of the trees, swinging and landing on it perfectly. Isaac was frowning as she grabbed another branch and got even higher.

"Witches don't stand a chance in a one-on-one with a werewolf, so they are going to take advantage of their surroundings as best as they can." Taking a leap forward, she balanced herself on another tree branch, her calculated movements making her look like a gymnast. Without much effort, the werewolf followed her up and they were literally taking their training to another level. Surprisingly, she got down fast and he managed to land in front of her, only to be welcomed with a set of rapid punches and kicks that made him take a few steps back. Not giving him time to react, she grabbed his arm and pulled him forward as she got out of the way, making him land on his stomach again with one of her feet placed triumphant on his butt.

"You're out." She said simply and walked towards the others, leaving Isaac to pick himself up with a frown on his face, a bit baffled about what just happened. Scott was ready to go next when Derek placed his hand firmly on his chest, stopping him in his motion. "Let me."

Making a small grimace, Cleo proceeded in taking the elastic bandages off and placed her hand over the claw-cuts on her forearm, concentrating on them and when she removed her hand there were only three dark pink lines left, the wounds almost healed.

"I went easy on Isaac." She stated, a grin already making its way on her face. "But since this is you we're talking about, we'll have to take this to another level." Surprisingly, Derek smirked at her. Her hands went behind her neck and she unclipped the necklace she was wearing, taking it down and letting the medallion spring freely in front of her. The werewolf's eyes were skeptically analyzing her but she only smiled in return.

"I leant some new tricks." She stated and headed over to where Stiles was, taking his hand and placing the necklace in it, winking at him. "Don't stare too much." She added and when she took a step backwards it was like a curtain has lifted. Her transformation went easily, just like their werewolves would transform, but a fae was a new thing.

Her skin was still pale, but dark marks spread in complicated models were now on her arms, and possibly all of her body. Her hair remained the same bright red, but it was shorter and Stiles couldn't help but laugh at the irony of a fairy having a pixie cut that was bringing out her pointed ears, and with a quick look she seemed exactly the same except for the marks that resembled tattoos and her shorter hair. But then she turned to them and smiled, a malicious one this time, and they noticed her dark red eyes that seemed slightly enlarged and, unlike the werewolves who grew fangs, her teeth were all pointy and an impossible white.

She stretched her body, a happy smile plastered on her face. "It's been so long since I've last loosened up!" Her voice was higher and clearer, but it still had something human in it. "Missed this?" She asked Derek who was now transformed, red eyes meeting bright blue and both of them showing their teeth in what were supposed to be smiles but ended up mildly terrifying the others.

"It still surprises me after all this time that your skin is still that pale, you know?"

A deep growl was let out by the fae as she turned in the direction of the voice, her eyes meeting Peter's slightly amused ones. The pack must've heard him approach, so only the humans were a bit surprised of his sudden appearance. Faster that humanly possible she was in front of him, her hand gripping his jaw tightly. "Have you forgot, dear Peter" she breathed calmly, her voice composed but sending shivers down the werewolves' spines, "that I can rip your throat out with my teeth? And I can make it really, really painful." Letting him go with repugnance, she headed back to where Derek was standing, proceeding to place herself firmly on her feet, ready for their training. She heard Stiles mutter "So that's where Derek got it" to Scott before launching herself at the young werewolf.

It was different then her little spar with Isaac. Derek knew her, knew some of her moves and he was faster than the younger werewolf and definitely stronger. It was messy and they heard the pack gasp or groan more than once. She knew her limits, knew she was strong enough to take a werewolf out, or at least an unknowing one, but this was taking it to levels they never did in their little training sessions before, and it was bloody and sweaty and it ended up with her pinned against a tree by her jaw, Derek growling in her face with maybe a tiny victorious smirk playing on his lips. She smiled at him and let her eyes wonder down as much as she could, knowing that he would mimic her gesture, and he saw her hand hovering over his abdomen, sharp claws brushing against his skin and ripped shirt. He growled again, this time annoyed, and let her go, both of them starting to head back to the pack all bloody and beaten.

"Guess it's a draw, huh?" She headed towards Stiles, her dirty hand already extended for her necklace when she stopped dead on the spot. She blinked rapidly in surprise and before she could shake it off she was falling, control over her body completely lost as she went unconscious.

"Shit!" Derek and Cora were at her side before the rest of the pack reacted, but they all gathered around the fae. "Stiles, the necklace. Now!" Derek commanded and the teen went to support her head as the werewolf put the necklace on and watched her appearance chance again, her features becoming human as her heart beat slowed down. She was fluttering her eyes open not long after and a sigh of relief washed over the pack.

Her hand instinctively went to her neck to feel the pendant and she let herself close her eyes for a moment of ease until she heard Derek growl at her. "You need to feed." He let out, his rage a clear tone in his voice.

"It hasn't been that long." She muttered back, not bothering to look at the pack, and then got up swiftly, almost as nothing happened. "I'll be fine."

"Cleo, you passed out!" Cora exclaimed, even though she wasn't sure what it meant exactly, but if Derek said she needed to feed, it didn't really seem like it was to be taken lightly. Her brother threw the fae another angry growl as he asked "How long?"

"Not that long." She snapped through clenched teeth and Stiles realized she was holding back the real answer, because when faced with a direct question, a fae couldn't lie. "How. Long." The former Alpha was clearly making an effort on keeping his face collected.

"A while." The huntress mumbled as she was putting her boots back on. When she saw the glare Derek was still throwing her, she got defensive. "I was planning on bailing town this weekend, stop looking so worried. I'll be fine."

"I'm a little afraid to ask, but uhm… what do faes feed with?" Allison asked from behind Scott, her brows raised both in curiosity and a little anxiety. When the fae looked her way with that predatory grin she held her breath in a successful attempt to not gulp. "Humans." She answered cheerfully.

"She means human emotions." Derek explained, not wanting his pack to panic more than they already were.

"But why do you need to bail town in order to feed?" Came the question from Stiles and Cleo could almost see those little wheels turning inside his head. "Derek didn't put it very well." She shrugged, her face giving away for a second how tired she really was. "It's not exactly emotions, it's more like moods. Energy, if you want. The energy that humans let out when they're in different moods, like sexual energy or tension, or anger, or happiness. The big ones, but sexual energy tastes the best." She gave the teen a half smirk, something he didn't see before on her face. "Also I have to bail town because I need _a lot_ of energy and if I just fed here it will most likely result with some… casualties."

"Anyway." She continued, ignoring the looks she was getting from the young pack. "Good training session. Dinner at my place this Friday, be there or I'll hunt your ass and drag you there." With a wink, she got in her car and left like a storm.

"Well, she's definitely something." The phrase that came from Lydia managed to surprise the pack even more than the fae, but the girl just shrugged and looked at Scott and Derek. "So, are you doing any more training or what? Some of us still have homework."

"Speaking of training, Derek, why aren't you healing?" Isaac pointed at the scratches that covered the older werewolf's torso which were still not closing up. Derek shrugged at him and put his shirt back on, wincing a little in pain. "Magic heals slower, kind of like Alpha wounds."

"I like her." Stiles blurted out before he had time to really think about it and he almost regretted it the moment the words left his mouth. "I mean, look at her. She came here to warn us and now stays here to help. To actually help us with something we had no idea how to fight. That's a lot more than we got 'til now." He motivated and gestured in the direction she left.

"How can you be so sure she's not here to help _them_?" Scott argued but Stiles just rolled his eyes at his best friend, the rest of the pack just listening to their small argument. "Dude, I'm sure, okay? I don't know how, or why, but I know she can be trusted." He took a quick glance at Derek and Cora, probably for encouragement and Derek stepped in. "She wouldn't work with witches, or any other spell-casters, I can assure you of that."

"Why? Isn't she like, a magic creature or something? Shouldn't they go hand-in-hand?" Allison chipped in but Derek and Cora just shook their heads at her. "It's not my place to tell you about it, it's her choice if she'll ever let you know her motives. But, like I said, she wouldn't work with them, or anyone who she doesn't trust for that matter." The pack nodded and Scott recognized the "see? I told you so" smile on Stiles' face after Derek spoke.

"By the way, Scotty, can I hitch a ride with you?" Stiles asked, trying to give Scott the same puppy-eyes he always used on him. He noticed the quick glance his best friend threw at Allison and sighed, a mask of desperation on his face. "Oh, but my, what a tremendous mistake I made! Left behind because of love, again!" He lamented but not truly upset, already eyeing Lydia and Danny. Both teens shook their head as Lydia gestured towards the twins.

"We can give you a lift, but we'll have to go by the loft first to grab some stuff. We're heading to Cleo's after that anyway, so we'll drop you then." Cora came with the saving idea and Stiles threw her a smile. "Great, thanks!"


	5. Chapter 5

Stiles came to hate the silence with a burning passion.

Of course, he always kind of found silence to be a bit bothersome, but sometimes it was very welcomed. He needed it when he had to concentrate on something, and after Scott got turned into a werewolf he needed a lot of silence to get to the end of things. But now, now it was just pure hate he had for it, because silence meant being alone. With himself.

With the darkness.

He managed to ignore most of it after it happened. He managed to push it down, to shove it from his mind when he was with the pack or when he was studying or when he needed to think about the ways to bring them all closer. But after things got quiet, after he reluctantly formed some sort of tentative friendship with the twins, after the pack was sorted and Beacon Hills seemed to return to its normal path again, the darkness was still there. After all, Deaton warned them it will be permanent. At that time it was a price he was more than willing to pay for his father's life and he didn't regret it, not then, not now and nor will he in the future. But as everyone seemed to shift back to their lives, he felt the darkness grow and cage his soul even tighter, always being there, always giving him a constant reminder that it was there, waiting for him.

He began to hate the silence because it was actually never quiet enough. There was always _something_ that nudged him in the back of his mind and the silence only made it worse.

Allison had Scott and Scott had Allison and the pack, and even though at first they all tip-toed around the three of them, things got quickly back to normal because they seemed back to normal, and Stiles had no one to blame for that but himself. Because he was the one who ignored it the most, he was the one who kept encouraging the other two, he was the one being strong for their sake.

He was also the one who ended up the most broken.

Sometimes, in his darker hours, he honestly thought he was disposable at best. And then the panic would take over and those, at first, occasional nights became every night, yet he never dared to ask Scott if he could sense his panic and fear because he was afraid of the answer, he was afraid of the words his best friends would say. And while the pack became more relaxed and familiar with each other and actually started looking like a pack, Stiles would just step back inside himself, every morning with a new bravado face on, trying to ignore all the shades that were trying to get a hold of him.

"Hey, Earth to Stiles!"

He looked up confused to see Cora sitting with crossed arms in front of him, a scolding expression plastered on her face. "We're leaving you here if you don't stop daydreaming." She threatened and only then he realized that he was still at Derek's apartment waiting for them to grab some stuff and head back to Cleo's house.

"I'm coming already." He muttered and got up from the worn couch, the uneasy feeling still in his chest.

* * *

Stiles ended up at Cleo's house with Derek, Cora and Isaac, the twins still not coming back from wherever they went with Danny and Lydia. He ended up there mostly because he wasn't ready to go back to his lonely and silent bedroom, already aware he wasn't going to get any sleep due to the full moon tonight.

"Okay, so, living room." Cleo begun when they were settled in the hallway, their things already waiting by their feet. "You can get to the library from there. That is the dining room and across is the kitchen. That door there to the far right is the bathroom and there is the back door. There is also a door to the basement in the kitchen." She gestured them to follow her and they went upstairs as she continued to point doors at them. "First door to the right is your room, Isaac, and across is the twins' room. Next is yours Cora, and across Derek's. The door there is my room." She pointed to the farthest door on the left and then she gestured to the right. "There is the bathroom and the door to the attic. Your room has a private bathroom, Cora, and yours too Derek." She shrugged a bit at them. "I guess you already have no sense of privacy, so I figured it wouldn't matter that much."

"Anyway…" she continued as she went back downstairs, the four of them following her to get their stuff. "There is cold food in the fridge and some lasagna in the oven." They watched her curiously as she was putting her shoes on and grabbing her keys. "If you encounter any problems with the full moon tonight, the basement is free and werewolf-proof, so lock it and stay there." She was already fully clothed now and her hand was on the doorknob. "I'll see you later then."

"Wait, where are you going?" Cora asked, suddenly tense. "Out." Cleo simply replied and with a "be good, kids" she vanished out the door, leaving the werewolves and a very confused human staring at the door. Isaac, Cora and Stiles looked at Derek for some explanation, but he just shrugged.

"I guess she used to do that sometimes, so…" He didn't continue as he grabbed his duffle bag and headed upstairs.

* * *

Stiles wasn't really sure how he managed to fall asleep on the couch in that huge living room, but he did and it was actually one of the few times he was able to sleep without having nightmares in the past months. The only thing that bothered him was that annoying voice that kept calling his name and insisting he should wake up. He mumbled something, he was sure, and tried to make the voice shut up, but something shook him and in the end he had to open his eyes.

"Finally." Derek muttered and Stiles was for a moment completely lost at the sight of Derek's eyes so close to his face. Too close, actually, and he was trying to remind himself that he was still partially frustrated with the older man since he left Beacon Hills without a sign and came back without providing any explanation.

"Wha-" He took a moment to check his surroundings. "What time is it?" He finally asked and got up from the couch, his whole body sore from the uncomfortable position he's been sleeping.

"It's almost midnight." Derek responded and held a hand stretched for Stiles to grab and get up. "Come on, I'll get you home. You have school tomorrow." The teen was still in a bit of a daze from his sudden awakening, but he could swear he heard concern in Derek's voice. And maybe a bit of regret, but he shrugged it off, not wanting to think about it half asleep.

Stiles managed somehow to get his jacket and his shoes on as Derek patiently waited for him by the door. They got out in the chilly night and started walking towards the Stilinski house, the cool air completely waking Stiles up as he was trying to not let the cold get under his thin jacket. He could sense Derek shifting uncomfortable besides him, not as affected by the cold as he was by the full moon tonight and Stiles cursed himself lightly for not arguing with Derek to keep him in the house. He could make it home without problems; his house was just down the street after all.

"Well, thanks." Stiles muttered, not wanting to look at Derek. He was shifting his weight from one foot to the other, not ready to go inside just yet.

"I'm sorry." He heard and his head went up so fast he thought he broke something. Was… was Derek apologizing? To him? For what on Earth would Derek apologize to him?! "Uhm, what for?" He managed and this time it was the werewolf that wasn't looking at him.

"For having to wake you up. You seemed peaceful and… if it was any other night, I would've let you sleep but with the full moon tonight and a house full of werewolves…" He trailed off, shoulders shrugging slightly, and it was then Stiles understood what Derek meant. It was the first time he managed to sleep without waking up screaming from the nightmares in a long time, and Derek knew that. The werewolf knew what Stiles has been going through, but it was a full moon and anything could happen and he didn't want to risk Stiles' life.

The teen was still trying to sort all the feelings that flooded him right now. Derek knew about the darkness. Derek knew he wasn't able to sleep, he knew all the lies he made up for covering his lack of sleep, he knew he was hurting and all of Derek's behavior in the last month made sense to him now. He was tip-toeing around Stiles. The young man actually thought he and Derek sorted it out, actually thought that maybe the werewolf didn't dislike him all that much, and thought that they were making their way to something borderline friendship when Derek just _drops this to him right now_ and Stiles is angry. He's furious and he knows Derek can sense it by the way guilt starts to be seen in his eyes.

"You don't have to treat me like a child." Stiles seethed, even though he was a bit taken aback by the panic in the older man's eyes. "I'm not five. I don't need you to fuss over me and be all nice and gentle with the broken human just because you somehow managed to find out about the sacrifices and what we did, I don't need you to tip-toe around me like that! What the pack did was enough!" He was babbling angry now and was only half conscious of what he was saying, but right now he didn't care. "They were all acting nice and gentle and when everything got back to normal you _had_ to come back and start this things over again and _God_, I thought we were friends! I honestly thought we were forming a friendship here but no, it turns out you were just acting like that because of what? Compassion? Guilt?" Stiles knew Derek wanted to say something, but he didn't give him time to even open his mouth. "You know what? Forget it."

And with that the teen turned around and got into his house as fast as he could, making sure he slammed the door behind him just to demonstrate how angry he was at the werewolf. And maybe just a bit regretful that he yelled at him.

* * *

_"Where the hell have you been?!"_

The red-head winced at the sudden yelling that was thrown at her, already sensing a headache approaching along with the furious werewolf that was approaching her.

"We looked for you everywhere! You went missing for almost two days, no phone calls, no texts, no nothing! Where have you been?!" Derek kept his voice raised, even though she was clearly making a face that disapproved of that.

"Firstly, stop yelling." She retorted wearied. "Second, it's none of your concern where I go. I had things to do. And third, get out of my way. I need sleep." She pushed past the werewolf and was making her way to her room, but he stubbornly followed, stopping suddenly in the doorway as she managed a tired smile. "Sorry sweetheart, private room." He growled at her, but didn't move from the doorframe.

"Cleo, it's Friday morning." He begun and was actually quite grateful that the pack was in school and they were alone at the moment. "We haven't heard from you since Wednesday evening. We were worried." He paused, but still looked her in the eyes. "I was worried." He finally admitted and was met with a thankful smile.

"I know." She was fidgeting, an unusual thing for her to do, but she was tired and it was Derek so she figured she could let herself be vulnerable for a bit. "I had some things to deal with, important things. I can't…" She stopped, and then tried again, still not sure she was choosing the right words. "I'm not ready to talk about it, not yet. But I promise I'll tell you someday." He nodded, but was still hovering in the doorway, not sure of what he should do. She stepped forward, pressing her hand gently on his cheek and he leaned into her touch. It was amazing sometimes how much she reminded him of his mother, strong and fierce and stubborn, yet surprisingly caring and gentle, and after everything that happened with his family, she was probably the only constant thing in his life for a long time. And he was grateful for that.

"What happened, Derek?" She asked, her hand still placed on his cheek, her thumb tracing his skin in a calming fashion. "What's wrong, honey?"

He broke down and told her everything.


	6. Chapter 6

Scott, Stiles, Allison, Lydia and Danny found themselves hovering in front of the mansion's door, not entirely sure if they should knock or just get in. Since the rest of the pack was now basically living there, they decided to group themselves at Stiles' house and then make their way down street to where dinner was held. They phoned Derek earlier and asked what they should bring, because Lydia and Allison insisted that it was just plain rude to go to someone for dinner and don't bring anything, but Derek's phone was hijacked by Cleo who told them to get their asses there already and not even think about bringing something. So now they were standing on the front porch unsure of their next move when the door opened and Cora was smiling at them and hurried them inside.

She led them into the dining room where a huge table reigned, all fancy and set. They heard Cleo shout "take a seat" from where she was still fumbling in the kitchen, and since the twins and Isaac were already set, they went ahead. Cora took her seat in front of Isaac at the farthest end of the table, Danny went ahead and placed himself between Ethan and Isaac and Lydia took a seat beside Aiden, who was sitting across from his brother. Allison took the seat in front of Lydia and dragged Scott beside her and Stiles shrugged and placed himself in front of Scott, leaving unoccupied only the two seats at the heads of the table for Derek and Cleo, who were both arguing in the kitchen.

"Sorry for the wait!" The fae sang out as she entered the dining room with four plates balanced on her hands, Derek coming after her with another three plates. It took a few minutes for the table to be full with food and also a little arguing because Cleo insisted that none should get up and that for the moment Derek was her personal assistant and she didn't need another pair of hands. In the end they were all settled at the table, Cleo at one end of the table between Cora and Isaac, and Derek at the other end between Scott and Stiles.

"Well, my dears, I have nothing else to say than _bon appétit._"

The table was loaded with enough kinds of food that no one really knew with what to start, so they all passed the trays and plates around them and filled their own plates with every kind of it.

"_Oh my God!_" Scott exclaimed as he was savoring one of the meals. "And I thought Stiles could cook!" He stared wide-eyed at the fae that was smiling at him and made a half bow at her, as much as the table allowed him to. "You are a goddess and my new favorite person." The Alpha declared and was promptly encountered with Allison's elbow. "Of course, my favorite person after my gorgeous and perfect girlfriend." He tried again and shot Allison a sheepish grin while she was slowly shaking her head at him, a small smile playing on her lips.

"Thank you, sweetheart." She winked at him playfully while taking a sip of her wine glass.

"Stop doing that." Cora demanded from besides her, rolling her eyes as to emphasize her words, but Cleo just shot her a confused and a bit amused glance. "Stop doing what?"

"Stop looking like such a proud momma-bear there."

"Maybe I am a proud momma-bear." Cleo retorted and sent everyone a genuine smile. "Look at me feeding the younglings. It's a moment to be immortalized!" She laughed and the atmosphere seemed so warm and welcoming, Stiles forgot for a moment where he was or who was with him, the only thing that chanted in his head being "_home home home home home_" in an endless loop.

"_Younglings_, who even uses that?" Derek scorned, but a smile was playing on his lips and Cleo glared at him. "It's a perfect word to describe all of you." She retorted and the werewolf rolled his eyes at her from across the table, the pack already waiting for the outcome of their little verbal match. "I believe you forgot not everyone here can live hundreds of years." He scoffed.

"Doesn't change the fact that you're all younglings compared to me." She finished and took a victorious sip from her wine glass.

Half-an-hour latter, almost all the food was gone as the pack was sitting cheerfully at the table talking with each other and enjoying the company.

"Nuh-uh." Cleo threw when she entered the dining room with two trays full of different kinds of cakes and cookies. "Put that back, Stiles." The teen made an almost strangled noise as he was caught with the wine bottle in his hands, ready to pour some for himself. "Why?" He demanded. "You saw Scott sneak-up a glass and didn't say anything."

"Two words sweetheart: human and minor." She simply stated as she took her seat. "So you let Scott drink because he's a werewolf?" He asked almost incredulous and Isaac and the twins couldn't help but snicker at that.

"Werewolves can't get drunk." Cleo snorted and then went on. "Plus, I promised your father this will be a decent dinner." She took a moment to enjoy the teen's confused face until she explained. "We ran into your father today at the store." She gestured to Derek who was more or less trying to avoid any contact with Stiles. "He's surprisingly perceptive and very accepting."

"How so?"

"Well, he saw just Derek at first but when he got a good look at me he just kind of growled and went "you a werewolf too?" and I just laughed and told him "neah, I'm a fae" and he just goes "figures" and told us to be careful with you guys at dinner." She chuckled a little at the memory. "He still smells as nice as I remember."

The teen threw her a thoughtful look before he questioned her. "You keep saying me and my dad smell nice, why's that?"

"Well, mostly because you do." She knew her response won't satisfy the teen so she continued. "I've met some humans in my life who happen to smell better than others. Well, to faes anyway. I'm not sure werewolves can perceive the human scent as we do. These guys" she said gesturing at the pack, "probably smell pack on you, as other werewolves do too. I mostly smell dinner." She let her teeth show when she smiled.

"Please stop trying to scare them, Cleo. It stopped being funny when you started it with Cora." The fae just rolled her eyes at Derek, holding back the impulse to stick her tongue out at the werewolf. "They should be aware of what is happening around them." She shrugged. "You never know what they're going to face. What if someday they stumble over a fae and they'll remember me being all cute and cuddly and end up as a great meal for said fae, huh? Whose fault you think it will be then?" She argued and they all had to admit she had a good point. "My advice is to just stay away from any kind of magical creature; they're all just bad news."

"Well then how are we supposed to know who is what?" Isaac chipped in and all the attention was focused on the huntress again. She sighed and made herself more comfortable on her chair, mentally preparing herself for another tiresome conversation.

"As you bright minds noticed, faes don't have a scent. We're blending with our surroundings. But most of the time you'll just know who has magic coursing through their veins. It's kind of a thing with supernatural creatures. You weren't able to tell me apart because of this." She got out the medallion from under her shirt to let it be visible. It was just a turquoise tear-like crystal, but they've all seen what that could hide.

"So, we should just… _know_ when we met with other supernaturals?" At this the fae just shrugged. "Kind of, yeah."

"The how come none of them can tell what Lydia is?" Stiles asked the question that was going through everyone's mind and the mentioned girl just glared at him. Cleo blinked surprised and her gaze fell on the other red-head in the room. "Huh. I didn't realize you're a supernatural, but then again, I'm not functioning on full capacity." She shrugged, already knowing what the next question was going to be.

"Is there any way you can tell?" Allison broke in, hope and curiosity filling her voice.

"If I didn't sense her by now, she's not one of the main species. Why do they claim you have anything supernatural in you?" She asked the girl curious but the younger red-head just shrugged at her. "I always end up finding dead bodies." The fae let out a small laugh.

"I think that has more to do with bad luck rather than the supernatural."

"The Darach called her a 'banshee'." Stiles offered and the fae blinked surprised. "Interesting." She muttered and got up to get closer to the young woman. Lydia stood in her chair while Cleo took her hand and unceremoniously sniffed her.

"Banshees are rare events here." She said and then looked at Stiles. "So, what do you say? Species or creature?" The boy took a moment to think it through and it was visible on his face how the wheels turned around in his head. "Well, mythology says they're actually fairy women, so I'd say some kind of fae subspecies?" He tried and was praised with a proud smile from Cleo. "Yup, they're magic beings. I wouldn't say subspecies, but they do have some magic in their blood." She furrowed her brows at the other red-head. "Though they're supposed to announce death, not find it."

"But can you tell?" Scott insisted after Allison nudged him on his side. "If Lydia is one, I mean." The fae hummed affirmatively. "I can. But you'll have to let me taste your blood." She informed the teen.

Lydia looked around the room at all the hopeful and curious faces and she'd be lying if she didn't admit she wasn't curious herself. After the confrontation with the Darach, she did a little investigation of her own, trying to find more about what Jennifer said about her. Needless to say, she couldn't possibly know what information was correct, so maybe having the fae solve it out for her wasn't such a bad idea.

"Well…" She eyed the older red-head with a suspicious glare. "Fine." She muttered, but didn't bother to get up or move from her place at all. The fae approached her again with her hand stretched, so Lydia offered her own. She felt a light pain on the tip of her finger and then watched as the fae licked it clean of the little blood, the small cut healing instantly when the fae let her finger touch it. They were all watching as her face grew darker and she frowned. Cleo took her hand to her mouth, feeling for a moment she might puke all her dinner because of the horrible taste she now had in her mouth. Getting up, she took her glass and poured some more wine in it, drinking it in one big gulp.

"Well, sweetheart, you taste like death." She announced dryly. "Congratulations on having fae blood in you veins. You'll find yourself drown towards a lot of violent deaths in your future." The teen shut her eyes for a moment, letting the information sink in. She muttered a "great" under her breath, but except for that there wasn't really any reaction from her.

"Great…" Stiles also muttered half irritated. "Next you're gonna tell me Danny is some sort of telepath or sorcerer and I'm the only plain ol' human here." He sighed defeated but was promptly interrupted by Allison clearing her throat. "And what about me, Stiles?" She asked in mocked offense.

"You can kill someone with like two fingers, you're not fitting in the "plain, ol' human" category." He announced with a wave of his hand.

"Well, if you dislike it that much, I'm sure I could find a vampire or two who would be willing to transform you." Cleo offered with a smile but Stiles just shoot her a terrified glance. "I'll pass that, thank you. I rather enjoy my humanity."

"Or you could always learn some magic." She went on and the teen snapped his head back at her so fast he actually thought he might break something. "You have potential." She shrugged.

"Please don't get any ideas in his head." Cora moaned disturbed but Cleo only laughed at her protests. "It's okay, I couldn't really teach him anyway." Her looked went blank for a second, deep in thought. "Which reminds me. Scott, would you be so kind as to give me Deaton's number? I need to check some things with him and it's rather urgent." The boy only frowned for a second before pulling his phone out of his pocket.

"Sure, but uhm… could I ask what urgent things?" He handed her his phone and she tapped the number there on her own cell. "I'm leaving tomorrow and I need to get some stuff for protection spells so I just want to check if he has some of the things I need." She pressed the dialing button but went in the kitchen, knowing they could all hear her but hoping they wouldn't catch all the words coming from the other end.

"Hello, Deaton dear." She greeted as she heard the suspicious "hello?" coming from the man. "It's Cleo. Yeah, I stopped in town with some business. Actually I'm with the pack, Scott gave me your number. They're nice kids. Ugh, relax, they already grew on me in an unnerving fashion really. Listen, I need some stuff for some protection bags and I was wondering… No, I'm looking more for the basics, I'm leaving for the weekend anyway so I'll find the rest in LA but I thought to check with you first. Yeah, sure. Tomorrow morning? No, I won't be leaving until about lunch. Okay, thanks. You're a life saver, literally. G'night."

When she went back to the dining room she was surprised to have Derek furrow his brows at her and almost growling. "What do you mean LA?" He asked impatiently but she just rolled her eyes at him.

"I mean LA as in Los Angeles, Derek." His quickly let his disapproval show. "You're not going to LA." He said firmly.

"As a matter of fact actually, I'm going to LA. Tomorrow." The pack was enjoying their little verbal spar a little too much. "Then you're not going alone." She let out a surprised sound at that. "Yes, I am." She retorted, not liking where this was going.

"There's no need to go all the way to LA just for feeding."

"Are you kidding me? Of course there is! If I'm going to be stuck in this pit for the next month I sure as hell will be fleeing to LA at least when I need sustenance." She deadpanned, completely glaring at Derek now who was only returning her stares. "Fine, but you're not going alone." She snorted annoyed.

"Are you suggesting you come with me? Leave your pack alone while coming to just follow me around meaningless?" Her eyebrows were raised in a challenging way. "No way, sweetheart. LA is still my territory." He mimicked her eyebrow gesture. "It's not necessary for me to come with you. Cora can do it as well." His sister just growled at her in their specific Hale way. "Sorry, bro, but I already have plans for the weekend." Derek sighed annoyed.

"Not LA." He said again, brows still furrowed. "At least somewhere close enough for us to actually get to you in case anything happens." Rubbing her temples, Cleo sighed defeated.

"Fine. Be it your way, I'm not leaving for LA." A smirk was already forming on her lips. "Good thing there is this new place opening up in Redding." She hummed content with the change of plans, but sighed again. "Okay, would any of you actually want to join? Little road trip, crazy night in a new night club in Redding?" She asked, more to be polite than anything, but Derek snorted at her.

"They're still minors, Cleo." She rolled her eyes at him, scanning the room. Cora already mentioned having plans. "Isaac? Care to loosen up a bit?" Her smile was playful as the boy stumbled a bit with his words. "Uhm… well I don't exactly have plans, but…" He was interrupted by her waving hand in front of his face. "Great, you're coming. Still two empty seats in my car. Three if you're willing to stay a little crowded." She looked around the room, her eyes landing on Danny and Ethan. "Don't look at me, Cora is studying with me and Lydia this weekend." The teen said, though a hint of regret was heard in his voice. Scott and Allison shook their heads in a "no" gesture.

"Stiles?" She asked innocently, but the grin spreading on her face was the exact opposite of her tone. "I can talk to your father if he'll be objecting." She announced him, smiling sweetly at the teen.

"Well…" He hesitated, not wanting to look at Derek and see his disapproving expression. He was sure he could convince his father to let him spend the night away, even though he'll probably lie to him saying he'll be at Scott's. Or he wouldn't lie and then Cleo would convince him to let him go. "Why not?" He said with a smile and her grin spread.


	7. Chapter 7

Derek sometimes wondered if the things he did were so grave that he deserved his present. He didn't believe so. Yet, somehow, he managed to find himself on the back seat of Cleo's car, next to a way too enthusiastic Stiles who still refused to have a proper conversation with him, Isaac riding shotgun and obviously getting to pick the music and Cleo driving them to Redding. To be honest with himself, it was mostly his fault for refusing to let Cleo leave for LA with her sudden and mysterious two-days disappearance. He knew he should at least try to be less stubborn, but somehow he always failed miserably at that.

"Stiles, the curiosity you emanate is literally making my skin itch. Just ask your damn questions already." Isaac growled at him and Cleo's clear laugh filled the car. The boy sighed but threw the fae a hopeful look and she just made a small sign with her hand for him to go on.

"Okay, so yeah, I have a few questions." He began but was promptly interrupted. "Just out of curiosity?" He saw the woman smile at him in the mirror and threw her a small grin. "I may or may not need more info for a bestiary." He admitted with a small grimace and Isaac turned to look at him like he didn't hear him well.

"Really?" The young werewolf seemed excited and Derek couldn't help but grin a little himself. "Yeah. But the internet, as magical and full of useful stuff as it is, can't provide me with definite and proven facts, so I thought asking Cleo here would be easier."

"You could've asked Derek." She offered with a shrug. "He knows at least half of what I know."

"Sure, let me just ask the guy who didn't even mention the fact that other supernatural beings are actually _real_." He threw the older werewolf an irritated glare, but Cleo and Isaac just smiled at them. "Okay, shoot then."

"So, uncle McCreepy mentioned the fact that you're a Dark Fae. What exactly does that mean?" Stiles wasn't sure she would appreciate his bluntness, but he had a lot in mind and not enough time to clear everything up. Not to mention that, as much space as there was on the backseat, he could feel Derek painfully close but not close enough, and it made him mad since he was still supposed to be upset with him.

"As opposed to what you may think" Cleo begun carefully, "Dark Faes aren't actually evil. The fact that our species is separated in Dark Faes and Light Faes has more to do with the kind of magic we're able to handle and our appearance, rather than our intentions." She made a sour face, probably remembering something not to her liking. "Fae society is actually pretty messed up."

"But how come there are so few of you around?"

"Well, like I said, a lot has happened and there are at the moment only around 50 faes with pure blood walking around the Earth. But our species is far from disappearing. The gates between Earth and the Beyond were sealed at around the time I was born, so I can't be sure how many faes are still there."

"The Beyond?" Isaac asked mesmerized by the story as much as Stiles.

"Fairytopia, Magic Land, the Otherworld, whatever you want to call it. It's the realm where the faes originate. I can't guarantee everything I'm about to say to you is real and has happened, since I've heard it only from stories myself, but it is said that a long time ago, there were many passing ways between the Beyond and Earth, and faes and people lived mostly in harmony. The Beyond was ruled by two royal families, one of Light Faes and the other of Dark Faes. But as humans started to grow more powerful and more intelligent, they found more and more ways to enter the realm, so it was proposed to seal the gates. It's not known who came up with the proposition, but a fight started then between the royal families and it lasted for decades. In the end, the Dark Faes won and the gates were sealed, but the faes that already mingled in the humans' world were given a choice: Earth or the Beyond. Some stayed, some didn't. Now we barely survive and the entries into the Beyond are few and hidden." She chuckled when she finished. "I wouldn't be surprised to find one in the forest of Beacon Hills."

"But, of course, that wasn't exactly an answer." She muttered and then grinned wildly as she ended quite a risky overtaking, nearly scratching the car coming from the front and making Isaac and Stiles yelp a little. "We're very few around because we were hunted. God, you have no idea how many spells there are that involve fae blood. Plus, the birth rate kept getting lower and lower to the point where even young faes couldn't bear children. It's also because some of us mixed blood with humans… or other species." She explained and Stiles blurted involuntary after her little speech. "Did you have children?"

"I tried." She answered tiredly. "I don't even like children that much, but I figured I should do it, you know, perpetuation of the species and all. Turned out I am as infertile as most of the female faes here." She brushed the rest with a shrug. "Any other questions?"

Isaac made a point of looking out the window for a while and Stiles kept fumbling with a notebook. Derek almost snorted at that, since he could see all the questions spread on multiple pages and all the question marks and the little drawings on the edges. He had to admit, when Stiles was doing something, he was thorough, and working on his own bestiary gave him a nice goal to focus on. Even now, as he was sneaking glances at the teen, he could see the profound tiredness that seemed to never leave his face, and the dark circles under his eyes. While Scott and Allison had each other, Stiles was utterly alone in dealing with the Nemeton incident, and it pained Derek to see him like that. He was pack, and Derek couldn't stand seeing pack hurt, even though technically it wasn't his pack anymore.

"How much do you know about werewolves?" The teen chirped in and Derek was sure he was going to regret ever witnessing this conversation. Cleo just grinned back at them. "Enough. Shoot."

"Are mates a thing?"

Derek chocked at the question and Isaac's head snapped to pierce Cleo with a curious stare.

"Yup." She stated but didn't elaborate, knowing perfectly well she was annoying the two teens in her car. "But only Alphas get mates." She shrugged again. "Just like for every other supernaturals, the magic is slowly fading. Once every werewolf was born with a mate, being it werewolf, human or other. Now… I've only met one case of a Beta having a mate." She didn't miss the way Stiles' eyes went in Derek's direction.

"So, do _you_ have a mate?" Isaac asked the older werewolf with a smirk but Derek just groaned. "I'm a Beta, idiot." Was the only thing he responded but Isaac just rolled his eyes at him. "So?" He turned to Cleo with a questioning look. "If he had a mate when he was an Alpha but then became a Beta, would he still have a mate then?" The fae made a grimace and took a while to respond.

"Well, the mate bond would still be there. It has to. Werewolves mate for life. But the bond will most likely still be there because he'll get back to normal, so…" She trailed off with a quick wave of hand. "What do you mean, back to normal?" Stiles asked surprised while he was still scribbling something down in his notebook.

"He should be getting back to his Alpha form anytime now." She simply stated and let the three men in her car stunned. "What?" Derek snapped at her, eyes wide in shock.

"You heard me, sweetheart."

"But how?" He managed to mutter. "Your werewolf regenerative powers work that way. If you lose a limb, you'll be crippled for a while but it will grow back, because that's how your body works. Same goes when you transfer your Alpha healing powers to your sister; basically it's temporary." He made a strangled noise at that, leaning back in his seat as much as he could. As much as he appreciated the Alpha power, he wasn't sure he was ready for it again, not with everything he did to accept Scott as his new Alpha. Though he figured it was better he was warned about this because if he woke up one day to find that his Alpha powers were back, he would probably leave town again.

"Don't worry, dear. There were packs that had two Alphas, split the dominance and responsibilities. Scott isn't much the dominant type anyway, so I don't think it would be a problem." Cleo smiled at him encouraging but he just felt his world crumble again. "Packs with split dominance have two Alphas who are mates." He groaned and earned some snickers from the rest.

"I'm sure you and Scotty can manage your problems, _dear._" Stiles laughed and the grunt and glare Derek threw him weren't doing anything to stop that. He couldn't wait for this weekend to be over.

* * *

"Just out of curiosity, how many houses do you own?" Isaac asked as he was pacing around the living room.

"This is an apartment, Isaac." Cleo deadpanned as she continued to type away on her laptop, but she sighed when she glanced over at the boy and who just eyes her curiously. "I own several safe houses over the state of California."

"So an apartment across the street from a night club is a "safe house"?" Stiles chipped in even though he was still busying himself with his notebook.

"A girl's gotta eat." Cleo shrugged but only earned strange looks from both teens. She closed her laptop and got up from the old caramel-colored couch and headed to the kitchen. "I guess you guys need food?" She called but Derek responded from one of the bedrooms. "I already ordered some chinese."

"That's sweet of you, but me and Stiles are gonna go out."

"Really?" Somehow, Stiles managed to sound both excited and scared at the same time, but he was putting a jacket on nonetheless. "Where are we going?"

"Shopping. I need some stuff and I need a second opinion." She grinned at him and he was already regretting his decision.

"Uhm, this is an herbs shop?" It came more like a question, but Stiles didn't care. His mind was too busy trying to decipher why Cleo would need a second opinion on _plants_, above anything else. Clothes he understood, after all he was friends with Lydia now, but plants? Not his strongest point.

"Yes, but it's an herbs shop run by a human witch. I'm gonna make this fast, but please, whatever she says, don't talk, okay sweetheart?" Her smile was encouraging, but he wasn't sure if it was for the best if he went in. "Can't I wait outside?" Her hand was already opening the door.

"Nope." She smiled again and he followed her inside, staring curiously around at all the small boxes and bags. It smelled a lot like tea in there, but it wasn't necessary unpleasant. It was just bringing back memories that were thought forgotten.

"Oh, Amalia! Long time no see!" The woman behind the counter exclaimed, definitely excited. Stiles briefly registered that the woman didn't know who or even what Cleo was. "Hello, Cassidy." Cleo greeted in return with a polite nod. "It's been a while."

"Who's the pup?" Cassidy was downright staring at Stiles like she's never seen a teenage boy and he couldn't help but think that maybe she could feel his nervousness. "Cousin of one of the members." Cleo simply stated, not even paying attention to the well-built woman, instead looking at different small containers on the shelves.

"He's not…"

"No, but he knows. Smart kid." Cleo winked at him without Cassidy seeing it and he smiled at both of them, continuing to look around himself. He picked one box who had some leaves painted on it, but couldn't figure out how to say the name for his life. Probably Latin.

"I need this stuff." The fae pushed a small piece of paper on the counter and the woman scanned it quickly, nodding. "I have everything here. Wait for a bit." And with just that she disappeared on a back door, leaving the two alone in the shop. Stiles wanted to talk, to ask all the questions that came up in the short amount of time they were here but Cleo saw him and just shook her head in a clear "no".

"Here you go." Her simile was friendly and warm, nothing that would even hint suspicion. "Been to any coven meetings recently?" She asked Cleo and Stiles almost chocked on air, his mind already twisting and turning the woman's words. There was no other interpretation: Cassidy thought Cleo was a witch.

"Didn't have a lot of time with the whole wedding thing and the honeymoon." Cleo's smile was bright and almost shy, managing a soft laugh with her words. "Thank you." Stiles had to blink twice to register the fact that Cleo just put 200 dollars on the counter. "I'll see you around." He nodded politely at the woman and followed the fae outside, not saying a word until they were back in her car.

"Why does she think you're a witch?"

"That's the impression I left her." Cleo shrugged and started going through the small bag that also smelled a lot like tea. "Magic." She stated.

"Yeah, also, 200 hundred dollars for some plant leaves? Really? Magic is a little expensive for my taste." He made a face which was guaranteed to make anyone laugh, but the fae gave him a strange look and a half-smile. "That was actually pretty modest for the value these plant leaves actually have." She informed him and he looked comically horrified.

"So…" Stiles was pretty comfortable with the silence that fell in the car while Cleo was driving them around town. "You said you wanted second opinions on something? And since herbs aren't exactly my specialty…" He trailed off with a hand gesture. "Like I said, shopping." She turned to him and smiled again, then parked the car in a parking lot Stiles assumed was near some kind of shopping center. They got out and he joined her, walking together towards what seemed to be a mall. He was a couple inches taller than her, but with the heels of her boots, they had the same height as they entered the warm building. It was nice, Stiles realized, walking side by side with her, their shoulders bumping occasionally as they made their way around all the stores. She gestured towards what seemed to be a small coffee shop and Stiles nodded vigorously. His stomach really needed something in it.

Cleo went and bought them muffins and coffee, choosing a more retired table and she got the seat that was facing the door, eyes scanning their surrounding almost instinctively. It made Stiles' mind wander to Derek again, thinking he had the same self-preservation instinct to scan every new place they went, trying to find out if there were any threats or dangers. He wondered what other things Derek picked from her.

"How long have you and Derek known each other?" He found himself asking without really realizing it, but she just smiled at him.

"Well, let's see…" Her eyes darted around the small coffee shop again, but this time she wasn't really paying attention to their surroundings. "I first met Derek when he was about four, even though I've been to the Hales before." She shrugged and he could tell she wasn't completely comfortable with the conversation, but she continued anyway. "I've known the Hale pack ever since they landed in Beacon Hills, which was… well, a long time ago. There were some strange deaths around the time they were settling in, so of course my natural presumption was "ugh werewolves killing again" so I went over to investigate. Don't give me that look, I'm not a _human_ hunter. I follow my own rules, and those include not killing anything unless I have a good reason to."

"Like when they kill first." She nodded at him as he frowned. "But the Argents have something similar. Uhm… "we hunt those who hunt us", if I remember it correctly. Well, Allison changed that recently, but still." She just shook her head at him, her fiery curls floating easily around her face. "They always assumed everything that lurked in the dark was dangerous and wanted to kill them, so of course they lived by that. But like I said, I am one of the things that lurk in the dark and I still go out of my way to help." She grimaced a little at that but then continued. "Anyway, turned out the deaths were the doing of an Omega that was somehow trying to win his way in the Hales hearts." Stiles had to let a laugh out at the sour face she pulled.

"They were reticent of me, of course, but they thanked me nonetheless that I gave them a chance to prove they were innocent. One way or another, we made some sort of contract: if they behaved themselves and not kill anyone, and wouldn't expand their pack too much, they could have a stable territory in Beacon Hills and they would have my protection. Surprisingly, they never broke the contract."

"I was actually contacted by them when a new Alpha took over, which was a surprise. I always kept my eyes on them, of course, but we didn't interact that much. I sometimes got info from them, but that was kind of all. They never made any effort to contact me before that particular event. So I went to meet their new Alpha, Talia Hale."

"Derek's mother." Stiles whispered involuntary and the corners of her lips went up just a bit. "Yeah. It surprised me actually how much they evolved and integrated in the community of Beacon Hills. I had dinner with the whole pack then and… well, it was definitely one of the most thrilling experiences of my long life. And it was pleasant. She was just that kind of person, even though there was always an air of authority around her. Warm and pleasant and caring, but fierce. And stubborn, God, was she stubborn!" A laugh escaped the fae, a genuine one this time. "Unfortunately, all of her kids got that from her. Anyway, we already were kind of allies, but we became acquaintances, and then something borderline friendship until their house was as familiar to me as my own house. That was when I met Derek for the first time." Stiles noticed how her eyes became just a bit hollowed and her frown deepened.

"It pains me to see how much the fire changed him when I think about it." She mumbled. "After the fire…" She took a deep breath and it was only then the boy realized that this was as painful for her as it was for Derek and Cora. "After the fire, I went to get him and Laura away from there and brought them to stay with… with another pack that I was familiar with. Derek seemed to do fine, well, as much as you could expect after something like that. But Laura… well, she was a new Alpha and wasn't certain how to cope with that. The interactions became a little bit too forceful and they decided to head another way. We kept in touch though, and I visited when I got the chance, but then animal attacks started to go around Beacon Hills again and Laura, as stubborn as she was, didn't want to let me investigate. She said she could hold her own, that it wasn't a big deal. So I let her come back." She sucked in another deep breath and Stiles knew the rest of the story. Laura was killed and Derek returned to Beacon Hills to find his sister.

"What was he like? Before the fire, I mean." She looked at him relieved that he was considering a safer subject for their conversation, even though most of their coffee was already gone. "Shy. Curious. Surprisingly sarcastic when he hit puberty." She laughed a little, even though it seemed a bit forceful. "Side effect of living with a large family that was constantly sniffing out whatever you did, literally. He was also very smart. Precocious. He had his first shift at 13, while Laura only managed to get the hang of it at 15. You sometimes remember me of him." She confessed, still not looking at Stiles and he felt his breath catch in his throat because, honestly, for the most period he knew Derek, he was convinced they were polar opposites. "He was a good kid. Still is, even though he made some bad decisions. But we all do. That's how learning works." She shrugged and got up, Stiles following her without even realizing it.

"Was the pack that you took Derek and Laura the same as the one the witch at the shop was talking about?" The boy suddenly asked and he could feel her tense by his side. Delicate subject, he noted mentally and was about to say to drop it, when he noticed she nodded a little pained. Muttering a small "okay", he let the subject drop for good this time as he followed her around the shops.


	8. Chapter 8

Okay, maybe Stiles was looking forward to a nice weekend spent in a new night club in Redding, but this? He didn't agree to _this._ Being manhandled by Derek was one thing, but Cleo did it so nice, refusing it would have been just hurtful. Which is why he was now wearing jeans that felt a bit too tight and a dark green shirt that was definitely too tight for Stiles' liking, with the sleeves rolled up and his hair ruffled and Cleo looking at him genuinely pleased with herself, like Stiles was kind of her masterpiece. So, okay, maybe he felt a little more attractive than usual, but he wasn't exactly feeling comfortable with the knowing smirk Isaac was throwing him when he saw him. He also wasn't sure what to make of the plain stare Derek threw him when he exited the room to put his shoes on and the way the werewolf kept his eyes plastered to Stiles' whole frame. But he figured it could be worse. At least he wasn't wearing leather pants like Cleo was.

Even though that was her plan at first when she dragged him in all the shops that were selling decent clothes.

He groaned when the conversation they had at the mall played in his head again. When he asked why she was even doing things for him, she smiled, but it made something in Stiles twist a little in fear.

_"Think of me as your fairy-godmother."_

_"My what? Okay, you can't even grant me wishes or anything like that. Plus, you're way too young to be a godmother." He paused for a bit. "Can you even do something for my benefit?"_

_"Well, I can help you not get your ass cursed by the witches." A predatory grin appeared on her face. "Also I can help you get laid."_

He groaned at that, but it may have made him a bit happy. Just a bit. But he still refused the leather pants.

He studied her when they settled at one of the few empty tables. She was drop-dead gorgeous, that was for sure; even a blind person could see that. Even in four inch heels and leather pants and a top that seemed to be a second skin without actually reveling anything under her collarbone, she managed to move so predatory it put all the werewolves Stiles had the pleasure meeting to shame. His first instinct when he saw her in the middle of the club, in the colorful lights, was to run. Run as hard and fast as his legs would carry him without even looking back.

Every thought about her being at least slightly human disappeared. She was a predator. She wasn't a werewolf. She wasn't even like the Kanima, a predator also but that thing at least had a master. Someone who could control it. Cleo? She was inhuman and her own master. She did what she wanted. And it scared Stiles shitless.

_Thank God I'm not the only one_, Stiles thought because he could actually feel the tension in Isaac's body even though he was grinning like mad. Even Derek seemed a bit unsettled by the looks he was throwing the fae.

Stiles had a feeling that this night wouldn't end very well.

"Derek, sweetheart, why don't you go and grab a couple of drinks for yourself and the boys?" She asked that in a normal voice and it seemed so unnatural considering the fact that the music was too loud even for Stiles' human ears. He wondered why Isaac's and Derek's ears haven't started bleeding yet.

The werewolf only nodded and headed towards the bar where a rather large man was serving the drinks. Well, not as large as he was tall. And covered in tattoos. And wow, Stiles could see every muscle moving under that tight shirt and he wasn't even that close to the bar. He noticed the bright smile that the barman threw in their direction and was slightly confused before he saw Cleo wave and wink at the man, making him flash his teeth even more. At least he had a nice smile.

"He's a werewolf." She stated and Stiles almost chocked because Derek was right at the bar now and he saw him tense up when he found out that info too. The boy kept his eyes on Derek and the barman, and noticed Isaac was doing the same thing, so they both were a bit shocked to see the man smile even more brightly at Derek, leaning in to say something to him even though his and Derek's hearing was working better than any human's. Derek turned to them a little confused, but smiled when he turned back to the other werewolf and maybe, just maybe, Stiles' stomach became a bit tight because his eyes may sometimes play tricks on him, but Isaac was as shocked as he was.

Derek was flirting with the barman.

Derek was flirting with the barman who also happened to be a werewolf.

When Stiles turned to Cleo to ask her something, anything, about the guy, she wasn't at their table anymore. He spotted her bright red curls in the crowd, dancing with three guys and positively glowing. When she turned to them, her eyes flashed red for a second and he could see the dark marks on her skin that he only saw when she took that medallion of hers off. Inhuman.

Stiles could only thank the gods that she was on their side.

* * *

Isaac was a traitor.

Okay, so maybe they weren't exactly best friends now, but they were still friends and the fact that Isaac abandoned Stiles at the table alone with Derek didn't help him earn bonus points from Stiles. But probably Stiles would've gone dancing with that pretty brunette too, so he doesn't blame him that much. Still, he sighed a bit pained.

He got up from the table, signaling Derek towards the bar in a silent "do you want anything?". Derek shook his head in a "no" gesture since he was still playing with the glass of what Stiles assumed was whisky. The boy made his way to the bar, not exactly excited to see the werewolf barman up-close, but he couldn't ask Derek to just go and grab him another beer. He waited patiently for the werewolf to turn to him, but when he did, Stiles mind went blank for a second because _wow you're really hot up-close_ and the werewolf smiled at him, the same flirty smile he threw Derek when he went to the bar.

"Hello there." Smooth voice too, and the fact that he was leaning in so Stiles could hear him was actually kind of nice. "Uhm, hi." He managed to mutter, and cleared his throat.

"What can I get you?"

"Just a beer, thanks." He managed to get out even though the man raised an eyebrow at him and leaned in even closer. "I'm going to pretend to not know you're underage if you tell me your name." The man winked and okay, Stiles could get used to that.

"It's Stiles."

"I'm Eric. And I would've laughed if I didn't know you weren't completely serious." He placed the bottle right in front of Stiles and smiled at him again. "Believe me dude, you couldn't pronounce my real name." The boy answered and smiled nervously as he felt a hand slip around his waist. He didn't even manage to turn to see who it was when he felt Derek's lips pressed on his ear.

"What took you so long?"

His tone was playful and maybe a bit annoyed, and Stiles was sure he just shivered a little. Eric was looking at them surprised, but he quickly composed his face, grinning at Derek.

"My apologies, then. I thought you were talking about the curly one earlier." Derek just nodded at the other werewolf, face stoic as he took Stiles' beer and hurried him to their table, his hand still placed firmly on Stiles' lower back. The boy managed to turn a bit, looking intently at Derek and not even paying attention where he was stepping. "What was that about?" He just hopped the other werewolf won't hear them from that distance and with so much noise around.

"That was about me saving your ass." Derek growled in his ear before he took his seat back, this time only sitting closer to Stiles. "Are you… oh God, you are! I'm pack territory and you're protecting my virtue!" He wasn't sure whether to laugh or to be angry because he could take care of himself, thank you very much. He wasn't as helpless as all of them seemed to think.

"That's not…" Derek started to explain and then stopped, seemingly to consider his words. "I thought I made it clear to him earlier that you're under my protection."

"We were talking, Derek, he wasn't going to bite my head off." Stiles muttered to him. _I hope_, he added mentally and saw Derek roll his eyes exasperated. "We're in his territory. I had to make it clear to him that you don't want to have anything to do with him." He then eyed the boy, his eyebrows lifting questioningly. "Or do you?"

"What? No, of course not!" Stiles spoke, maybe a bit too fast because he saw Derek's mouth move up a little. "I don't want some stupid werewolf to think I'm his lost little red riding hood, okay? Dealing with you guys is enough for me."

"Well, that was fun!" Cleo threw her arm over both of them, smiling sweetly at them. Stiles thought he might choke when the smell hit his nose and he covered his face with his hand. "God, you smell like an orchard! I'm going to get diabetes only by smelling you." He muttered in his hand but Derek only eyed him amused. When he got a good look at the fae he had to keep himself steady on his chair and for a moment he thought he went blind. Her marks were all over her skin now and were glowing, a purplish light enclosing all of them.

"I'm gonna get Isaac and we're going home, okay Cleo?" Fortunately, Derek only got to get up from his chair as Isaac appeared behind him. "Ah, Isaac!" The fae didn't notice the young werewolf was already with them as she continued. "Gorgeous, fantastic, incredibly frustrating Isaac. I just want to rip his pretty head off." She sighed, still completely oblivious. Stiles had the impression she wasn't even aware where she was. "Most of the time I can't even stand to be around him. He just reminds me of him so damn much." Her tone went from predatory to grieving in an alarmingly short time and the boys exchanged panicked glances.

"She explained to me once that the energy intake is a lot like being completely drunk. She probably has no idea what she's saying." Derek tried an excuse and Stiles shook his head in acknowledgement, because there was no way Cleo was acting like this on a regular basis. They managed to drag her after them and to her apartment where Derek just let her fall on the couch and she was asleep in a matter of minutes.

* * *

Stiles jerked awake, almost falling out of bed and onto Isaac, who was still fast asleep on the floor. Another nightmare. He didn't want to think about it too much, not wanting to register the details. He only knew this was slightly different from the others he had, and that was all he could handle to know about it now.

Getting out of bed as quietly as possible, he headed to the kitchen. His throat was feeling sore, so he figured a glass of water could do him good. Or coffee. Or something hot that maybe could keep him awake, that would be great.

He jumped back at the light that was coming from the living room, but he quickly remembered dropping Cleo on the couch. Taking a quick peek inside, he saw the fae sitting on the couch, very much awake and looking like a purple glow stick with all her marks emanating light like that. He was thinking how to make his way to the kitchen without attracting her attention when he heard her calling his name softly.

She didn't even turn to him when he got near the couch, continuing to stare ahead at nothing in particular. "Did you know that green is Derek's favorite color?" He blinked surprised at her statement, but didn't say anything and she wasn't looking like she might add something else. When he started heading for the door, he heard her talk again.

"You smell like nature. Not even a forest or something defined. Just nature."

He shook his head and let her be, not sure how to handle her completely out of her own like she was now.


	9. Chapter 9

"I apologize."

Isaac stared at the cup of coffee Cleo was handing him, the only thing going in his head being _I'm not awake enough for this_. He took the cup nonetheless, sitting himself at the table as he took a tentative sip.

"I said some… things last night. I couldn't control myself even if I tried, and I actually didn't realize what I said before I woke up at four in the morning and thought about it." She grimaced as she continued speaking. "The point is I can't lie. Physically speaking. So, what I said was true." She paused, not entirely sure how to continue. They didn't know each other at all and the fae declared she wanted to snap his throat, but he couldn't help but smile a little at her confusion.

"So, you kind of want to kill me." He replied, tone a bit mocking. He knew Derek was awake in the other room and listening to their conversation, so he wasn't exactly worried.

"Yes. I mean, no. Not in the way you think. I quite like you, but sometimes…" She was pacing around the kitchen and the boy felt sorry for her. He only knew the woman for a few days, but to see her actually losing that calm exterior was something. Plus, he wasn't an idiot, he knew something very personal was coming.

"You remind me very much of someone important. Someone I deeply care for. And to be honest, it's distressing and it makes me want to claw my face off and in the process maybe yours too." She paused again, eyes drifting around the kitchen, mouth a bit ajar. "That didn't come out quite as I would've liked. It's, uhm…"

"Look, I understand. It's a delicate subject; you don't need to tell me anything." She stopped him before he had a chance to completely explain himself. "No, please listen. I wouldn't be at peace with myself if I left you with the impression that I could rip your throat out at any given time." She took a deep breath before she seated herself in front of Isaac, eye on the mug she was playing with.

"Remember Stiles asked me about mates on our way here?" She begun and he didn't feel like he needed more explanations.

"You had a mate?" It was supposed to be a statement, a way to make her understand she didn't need to open her soul in front of him, but it came out as a question and her relieved sigh made him shut up.

"I was a mate, only werewolves get mates, but yeah. He was possibly the best thing I ever got from my existence. You remind me of him more than I would like."

"I'm sorry." He was. He understood the emptiness of her look and the way her fingers were fidgeting with the cup and how her face was completely blank even though her voice was about to crack. He was like that once, when his mother died. He saw that look on the faces around him every damn day.

"You don't… it's not your fault, sweetheart." Her smile was barely a ghost of her usual ones. "It's just that sometimes I forget how to breath and I just want to lock myself up and let the anger fill me until I'm too tired to think." Derek entered the kitchen then, heading straight to Cleo and placing a hand on the back of her neck, forcing her to let her forehead rest on his hip. Isaac felt out of place for a moment when he heard her shaking breath, but he got up and went to her, getting down on his heels and letting his head rest on her lap, his arms circling her waist in what seemed like an unnatural position, but it felt comfortable. And it felt right.

"What's with the puppy pile?" Stiles inquired when he got into the kitchen and saw the three of them plastered to each other, still too asleep to do anything but let himself fall in the chair Isaac occupied not long before.

"You're just jealous I got two hotties all over me." Cleo laughed at him and Stiles could see Derek and Isaac relax in their hold. He had the brief feeling he was missing something, but laughed with her nonetheless. "Yeah, yeah, you got me. Is there coffee?"

The fae got up from her chair and fumbled around for a bit before placing one big mug of coffee in front of the boy, the other mug in her hand already extended to Derek.

"So, whenever you are ready we're leaving." Cleo announced and Stiles eyed her from behind his coffee mug. "You're normal again." He simply said and she flinched a little at that.

"So it wasn't a hallucination. Damn." She smiled sheepishly at the boy and he turned to Isaac, curiosity in his eyes. "Isaac, how do I smell?" Stiles asked impatiently and the werewolf threw him a weird look.

"Right now or in general?" Isaac smirked at him, but the boy didn't let himself be distracted by the implications of the question. "Generally speaking." He answered and waited patiently for his answer. "Well, you smell mostly like pack, you know. Safe. And what I guess is earth. Sometimes you smell like a forest." The werewolf shrugged and turned to Derek. "My nose isn't that great, it's still adjusting with everything. Derek could probably answer that better than me."

"It's not just earth and forest." Derek said, gulping down the entire mug and getting up from the table. "It's nature in general." He headed to the door, looking back at them with a small smirk. "I call dibs on the shower." He said and was gone.

* * *

"Okay, we can set up a shooting range about a mile west of the Hale house. It's far enough so the shooting won't be heard in the town and there is an opening in the forest there that would do fine." Cleo opened the trunk of her SUV to get out some practice targets which were actually just a few paperboards with a bullseye painted on them. The pack was gathered in front of the old Hale house that Monday afternoon for practice, and even though Cleo said that she only needed Stiles, Lydia, Allison and Danny there, along with Derek, they all ended up coming just for the sake of laughing as the humans learned how to handle guns.

"Allison, you want a gun too or are you happy with your crossbow?" The fae asked the girl, but Allison just shook her head at her. "Arrows work great for me, thanks."

"Well then, Stiles." Cleo turned to the boy who was absent-mindedly playing with the sleeves of his hoody, looking at her surprised when she called his name. "What are you familiar with?" She asked and he had to blink a few times before he realized what she was asking. "Oh, guns, yeah. Uhm, I shot with almost everything the Beacon Hills police has."

The fae sighed, turning to her car again. "So, semis mostly. What do they use, Glocks?" The boy nodded again as she started fumbling with a duffle bag in the trunk of the Toyota. She emerged with two identical pistols, handing one to Lydia and the other to Danny, who both looked uneasy holding the guns. "Don't worry, they're not loaded." She told them and both relaxed visibly. Stiles approached the two, taking the pistol from Danny's hands and examining it. "Nice, a 22. What do I get?" He turned to the fae with a grin on his face.

"You get mine." She made a grimace as she opened the driver's door, picking something from the glove compartment. Unloading it, she threw the gun at Stiles, who surprisingly caught it. "Huh." He exclaimed as he was playing with it, weighting it and moving it from one hand to the other. "Wait, what do you mean yours?" Cleo just shrugged at him.

"I still have a limited supply of firearms. Don't worry, it's best if you kids stuck with the semis."

"Are you sure it's all right letting guns on their hands?" Scott asked worried as he was eyeing his friends carefully. "Unfortunately, pepper sprays and itching powder are going to do nothing against witches. Better safe than sorry." The fae answered to him and made Derek a sign to grab the targets.

"Don't think you'll be keeping the guns." Cleo told them as they were moving through the forest to their soon-to-be shooting range. "We're practicing now, but I have no intention of letting firearms on your hands. They are for emergencies only."

"And what if they take us by surprise?" Lydia asked as she was frowning at the ground like the forest personally offended her, but the fae just shrugged in response. "All of you are kind of paired with a werewolf in case you haven't noticed. And I won't believe you for a second if you tell me you can't take care of yourselves."

"Well, we can, but still. We don't really know what to expect from them."

"Nobody does. Witches didn't survive this long by being predictable." Derek answered and was met with several curious glances. "So, that implies you've met some." Stiles chirped in and made his way until he was walking alongside with the werewolf. "I've met two of them when I was in New York with Laura. They lived in the same apartment building as us." The werewolf responded shrugging. "Really? And how were they?" Stiles inquired further and he knew everyone was listening to their conversation.

"They seemed nice until we learned that their preferred meal consisted of rat meat." Derek replied and Stiles tripped, his eyes wide as he was gaping at the werewolf. "Oh God, really?! That's… bleagh!" The boy made a disgusted noise, but he saw Derek's lips went upwards even if just for a bit. "I don't even want to know how you found that out." This time Derek let out a small snicker at the boy, who was still half aggravated over the news but still managed to smile in return.

"Where do you need these?" Derek asked Cleo when they stopped in the clearing and the fae was looking around seemingly aimless. "Oh, at the far end. Put about… 30 ft. between them." She instructed as she let her small bag hit the ground. "You two" she said as she turned to Scott and Isaac, "are going to search the perimeter. Make sure there are no wandering tourists or joggers around, the last thing we need is the police to show up because someone heard gunshots." She grimaced a little, starting to mutter to herself. "Teaching teenagers to use guns, dear God." She took the magazine out of her bag along with another gun and gestured Stiles to come over just as Derek finished putting up the targets. The werewolf placed himself at her left as she gestured for the boy to load his gun.

"That's a 22 round. The others only have 15." She said as Stiles was carefully loading his gun, positioning himself in front of one of the targets. "There's about what, 33-34 yards to the targets?" Derek nodded, approving of her estimation. "It's a nice range. Maybe a bit bigger than what is expected of a first time shooting practice, but well. Okay then, Stiles." She gestured for him to go ahead when she noticed Scott and Isaac returned to the clearing, signaling everything was fine.

Stiles took a deep breath as he straightened his stance, both arms extended forward and gripping his pistol tightly. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to clear his mind. Shooting was one of the few things that let his mind actually concentrate. He mentally got over everything his father taught him about firing a gun and opened his eyes as he let out a breath. Fixing the target, he shot, hitting the bullseye as he absorbed the aftershock, turning quickly and hitting the other three targets as well, a proud smirk already forming on his face as he heard everyone gap or swear at his performance.

"Gloating wasn't exactly a necessity, but well done." Cleo said to him in an even tone, but the proud smile on her face was giving her away. He turned to his pack, making a deep and ostentatious bow as they clapped for him.

"You can actually shoot." Came Isaac's incredulous tone as the boy laughed at him.

"Well, Sheriff's kid and all, it kind of rubs on you." Stiles said shrugging as he let the gun on Cleo's bag, making a little victory dance after that. "Haven't shoot in a while, but I still got it, yeah!"

"Fine, fine, you can shoot, we get it." Cleo huffed as she got him out of the way as she handed Lydia and Danny the magazines for their guns. "We'll see your fantastic shooting skills with the moving targets." She let out, a sly smirk already on her face. While the fae explained the two how to load the pistols, Stiles went and stood beside Derek, hands in the pockets of his hoody, trying to look nonchalant but realizing he failed miserably when Derek sighed in his direction, raising his eyebrows in the manner that Stiles thought only he had the pleasure of seeing. His "what-do-you-want-now-Stiles" eyebrow gesture and the boy couldn't help but snicker a little at the thought that Derek had a special eyebrow move for him.

"Sooo…" He dragged the "o" on purpose, looking anywhere but the werewolf as he let the familiar sensation of the already too many mostly one-sided conversations he had with him wash over. He probably should still be upset that Derek tip-toed around him ever since he got back in Beacon Hills. He knows he should be, but he also knew there was no way Derek would've done that just to be polite or considerate. Derek Hale didn't do polite. "I think it might've been wrong to yell at you earlier, since I kind of realized you were probably just worried, thanks for that by the way, or probably just trying to make sure I'm fine since pack and all, but still…" He dropped his little speech when he heard Derek scoff beside him.

"You think?" Derek half growled, but Stiles wasn't fazed by it. "Yeah, well, you know…" He gestured vaguely with his hand, not sure how he should handle Derek actually smirking at him. "Is this your intricate way of apologizing or have you just chosen me to listen to your rants because you know I'm the only one who will let you rant?"

Stiles made an offended noise as he brought one of his hands to his heart. "Scott lets me rant too, you know?" He said with a frustrated grunt, refusing to acknowledge the werewolf for a whole 20 seconds. "I'm sorry, really. I know it was just your odd way of showing you cared for me." He said, punching the werewolf playfully. "Guess I should've figured it earlier." He muttered and Derek threw him a half smile that maybe, just maybe, made his stomach flutter a little.

The gunshot was unexpected and made Stiles duck out of reflex, finding himself on the ground when he heard Cleo snicker. "Well, you grazed it, which is something." She said as she patted Lydia's back in sympathy, but the smaller redhead straightened her pose and aimed again, this time actually shooting the target almost in the center. Stiles found Derek's arm extended to him and took it without hesitation, letting the werewolf pull him up to his feet again.

"Wow, nice shot Lyds!" He almost yelled, grinning at the redhead who just smiled in return, shrugging a bit. He turned back to the werewolf beside him when Danny was taking his turn and smiled, leaning a bit towards him and Derek automatically mimicking his gesture. "So, are we good?" Stiles whispered in a secretive manner, pretending to look around him for any possible listeners, which was a stupid gesture considering he was surrounded by werewolves, but he still did it, at least for fun. Derek grunted, straightening his pose and rolling his eyes at the boy. "Yes, Stiles, we're good."

"Great, because man do I miss your couch!" Stiles said, grinning at the werewolf. It became a habit for him to crash on Derek's couch whenever he felt like it ever since he first dozed off there the week between Christmas and New Year and found out he actually slept well for a couple of hours. After that, Derek made him a silent invitation of using the couch whenever he felt like it because he always managed to sleep undisturbed for an hour or two, even though he always got muscle cramps and always woke up sore. But it was worth it.

"Now that you two made up" Cleo interfered clearing her throat, "we still have training to do."

"Right. Coming now."


	10. Chapter 10

Derek jerked awake, already wolfed out, panting hard and clutching his chest painfully, claws scraping the skin. Something was happening, he knew it. He _felt it_. He felt like his whole body was submerged, like there was a huge pressure keeping him down and every time he tried to breathe he just went deeper. He rushed out of his covers, his thoughts messy and worried as the pressure continued to settle in.

Something was happening.

Something really bad was happening.

"What the hell is going on?!" He yelled when he got out of his room, Cora already out of hers and ready to go look for him. One look at her and he could tell she was feeling the same thing and it only made him panic more.

"Derek, your eyes!"

"Shit, what's going on?" Isaac almost stumbled out of his room, eyes glowing gold and claws out.

"I don't know, I…"

The noise downstairs caught their attention, and as they listened carefully they made out a heartbeat. More steps were heard along with muttered curses. "You all better get down here." Cleo called from downstairs and they all stumbled into the living room where the fae was.

Cleo's marks still had a lingering glow. But the thing that surprised the three was the fact that she was completely transformed, her red eyes scanning them to check if they were alright.

"Why are you-" Isaac was cut of quickly by the redhead. "Look outside." She demanded and they made their way to the windows. Getting the curtains out of their way, they watched the silent landscape that was Cleo's and Stiles' street, covered in pure white snow that kept falling.

"It's just snow." Cora snorted, looking hesitantly at Cleo. "Why would snow-"

"What are those?"

Isaac pointed at two black shadows that could be seen on the sidewalk right in front of the house. Two standing shadows, that were just sitting there, watching them.

"I think they're people." Derek muttered and turned away from the window, letting Cora and Isaac watch the two strangers outside. Looking around, he suddenly realized something. "Where are Aiden and Ethan?"

Everyone stopped, trying to listen upstairs for their heartbeats.

"That can't-"

"But I saw them when they came back!" Cleo called after Derek who was already upstairs, the loud creak of the twin's bedroom door echoing in the whole house. "It's empty." The werewolf called and the fae let herself fall on the couch.

"I know when they went to sleep. They couldn't leave the house even if they wanted, the protections are up and none of you can get out." She said as she watched Derek pace around the living room.

"I can't smell them." He announced, jaw clenched almost painfully. "It's like they disappeared out of thin air. No smell, no trace of them, nothing."

"Uhm, guys, the things outside are trying to circle the house." Isaac announced from his place at the window, and they were all at it again, watching the two shadows trying to get closer to the house but failing. "The protections are holding, which means they're definitely not human." Cleo spoke, but was met with silence as the four of them kept watching the silhouettes outside.

"I can't even make out their faces." Cora muttered, trying to get even closer to the window to see better. "Why is this street so damn dark?" She demanded. Cleo moved from the window and to the entry hall. "Let's see if this is better." She said before pressing the switch and letting the outside light illuminate the front of the house.

"Erica?!"

"Boyd?!"

The two Betas were still looking out the window petrified as Derek pushed past Cleo and to the front door, opening it with a little more force than necessary and stepping from the porch in the freezing snow.

"The protections work only up to the sidewalk!" Cleo shouted after him, but she was already on the porch keeping Isaac and Cora from getting out of the house while she studied Derek and the two. A relieved cry came from the two silhouettes in the form of Derek's name, just as the werewolf reached them.

"Cleo, lift the damn protections! We need to get them inside." Derek called at the fae, but she was still reticent. "Are you sure?" She inquired but the only thing she got in return was a growl and Isaac nudging her side, hurrying her.

"They're my Betas, do it!" Cleo sighed, and after muttering a frustrated "alright, alright, dammit" she started chanting something in a language neither Isaac nor Cora recognized. Derek grabbed the two by their hands and brought them on the porch, proceeding to brush the snow off them and hurrying them inside.

Both blinked surprised when they saw the fae, but weren't able to say anything since Isaac was already all over them, soon followed by Cora, as the four engaged in a horribly long hug. Derek was almost circling them, sniffing out and touching the two as Cleo continued to watch them incredulous.

"Derek…" She called, her eyebrows raised in a silent question when the werewolf came by her side, leaving the four to their muttered conversation. "They were my Betas." He explained. "Were?"

"They died."

"They _what?!_" The fae almost threw Isaac on his ass as she collected both him and Cora from the two werewolves, stepping up in front of them and studying them. She took in their torn clothes, or what remained of them, their muddy complexions and wide eyes when she approached them. "Shit. Shit shit shit."

"What?" Derek barked at her, getting impatient and feeling completely thrown aback with the situation.

"I don't know what. They reek of death but also a lot of energy, and since there is no being around that has this kind of power, at least not one that we know of… my money's on the Nemeton." Cleo concluded crossing her arms, her face tired and her marks losing their remaining glow. "This… I'm not sure what it means. Aidan and Ethan suddenly just disappear and these two appear here, it doesn't announce anything good. I'll have to look into it." She dragged her hand over her face, letting out a frustrated sigh.

"But how did you know where to come?" The fae asked the two Betas and they just shared a confused look before looking straight at Derek. "We can sense our Alpha." The blonde replied with a shrug and then proceeded to point at the redhead. "And what exactly are you?"

"Derek's not an Alpha anymore." Isaac remarked hesitantly but Cora let out an indignant noise at that. "I think you'll find you're wrong." She said pointing at her brother who just growled at them before going to the couch and letting himself fall there.

"It just happened tonight, when we all woke up." He muttered with a half-shrug. "Apparently the whole thing was temporal." He gestured between himself and his sister with a tired expression, but Cora just shrugged. "Cool. So, are you going to fight Scott over the pack?" She asked in a detached tone, but he could see the vulnerable look she gave him. He had to think of a way to fix this and fast because there was no way they could leave town again.

"What do you mean fight Scott for the pack?" Erica inquired impatiently, looking at the werewolves in the room for an explanation when Cleo let out a pained sound. "If it's the Nemeton that did this, and I'm 99% sure it is, and if it made _us_ wake up like this… what about those three?" The fae asked, panic starting to take over her. Derek let out a deep growl and got up from the couch, already heading to the door.

"Where are you going?" Erica asked, and quickly grabbed Boyd's arm to follow their Alpha when he stopped them with a stern gesture, at the same time Cleo told him "you can't go to Scott".

"Why? We need to check on them. You take Stiles and Isaac can go to Allison and Cora can stay here to explain everything to Erica and Boyd." Derek retorted and made another move for the door.

"First, you can't go to Scott because you're an Alpha now and we have no idea how he'll take that if the Nemeton affected him. We're gonna trade, I take Scott and you take Stiles. Second, put some shoes on, it's snowing outside." The fae remarked and swept by him, already outside and heading to the True Alpha's home, calling a "take care of the house, Cora!" after her.

* * *

Stiles woke up screaming, panic already crawling under his skin, face wet with the tears he shred over his nightmare. He sucked a deep breath, trying to calm down but failing, a growing sensation of pressure in his chest. He tried counting his breaths, not wanting to fall to another panic attack, but the air was barely getting in and out of his body, and he just needed _to go. Move, Stiles, c'mon, move!_ But his body wasn't responding properly and he just wanted to scream, even though he couldn't, not with the feeling that he was submerged, that he was drowning and if he let go of the scream he was holding, he would be going down forever.

He was trying to focus on something, his breaths, the clenching of his fists, anything that would allow him to get out of his panicked state, when he felt someone grabbing his arms, keeping them in place, and he shivered, coldness coming from the window left open. Speaking. Someone was in his room, trying to reach to him, trying to wake him up from the fuzz. He'd have a few of these moments with his father, when a nightmare was particularly vicious and he couldn't for some time realize where he actually was. But his father was working that night, he was alone and clinging to whoever was in front of him that he couldn't recognize from and even hear because the beating of his own heart was filling his ears. He was probably going to have a heart attack before he was even twenty.

_"Stiles! Stiles wake up, dammit! Stiles!"_

_Wake up, yes, I should wake up. I have to wake up._

He blinked once, twice, took a deep breath, focused on the heat coming from the arms he was clinging on, blinked again and let his body relax.

"Hey, Derek." He managed to mumble, leaving out a sigh of sheer relief after that. It was fine. Derek was there. He was there and was trying to calm Stiles down. It was fine.

Derek was there.

Derek tortured him.

His body stiffened at the sudden flashback, and the werewolf felt the panic rising again as he grabbed the boy tighter, shaking him as gently as he could.

"Stiles, stay with me!"

Derek tortured him, that's why he was screaming and crying.

"Stiles, it was just a nightmare! A nightmare! You're awake now, c'mon!"

"Am I? Am I awake?"

Derek let a small relieved sigh at the response, grabbing Stiles' shoulders and forcing him to look him in the eyes. A wave of anger washed over him as he noticed the boy's puffy eyes and trembling lips, not wanting to really believe a dream could make Stiles look like that. It couldn't happen. Sure, he saw the boy look scared before, he probably knew his expressions as well as Scott would, but he never saw him cry. Stiles didn't cry, he never wore that look of pure terror on his face, never let himself uncovered that much that he would show such an expression.

"Yes, you're awake. You're in your room, and you're awake, okay?" The werewolf tried to make his voice soothing, tried to calm the boy down rubbing his shoulders, knowing from experience contact would help.

"How are you so sure? How are you so sure I'm awake and not dreaming again? You said I'm awake, but that sounds awfully like something dream you would say. Or should I say nightmare you? So... ow, why did you do that?"

"You felt the pain. Did it feel like you were dreaming?" The werewolf let himself relax a bit, carefully sitting on the bed next to the teen, still holding his shoulders and gently rubbing his thumbs on them.

"You pinched me." Stiles stated incredulously. "I'm definitely dreaming." Derek just scoffed at him but relaxed even more.

"Would you rather be slammed into a wall? I can do that if you still feel like it's not real."

"So you _are_ aware of your constant throwing me into walls thing." The teen smirked at him. "I thought it was some kind of reflex, like when you see me get close to any vertical flat surface you feel the need to have me pinned there." The teen laughed but only after Derek raised his eyebrows almost mockingly at him, ready to make a comment, did he realize the implications and he let out another laugh, this one transparently fake though. "Dude, I just woke up, you can't hold me responsible for anything I say." He defended but Derek just shook his head gently at him.

"Anyway, why are you here?" Stiles inquired after composing himself a bit, making his way to close the window Derek left open only to be hit by a sudden wave of coldness. "Whoa, that's a lot of snow!" His eyes went wide and he could feel himself grinning from ear to ear, but he didn't care. There was snow in Beacon Hills, much more than what they were used to and he was beaming. "Finally!" He extended his hand out the window to catch a few snowflakes, and even though they melted instantly when they came in contact with his hand he still turned around, putting his wet hand directly on Derek's forehead and laughed happily.

"See? Snow!" His mood dropped almost as soon as he caught the werewolf's concerned glance. The boy turned and closed his window, fumbling aimlessly with his hands just to avoid looking at the other man.

"You're eyebrows are doing their thing again where they show exactly what you're thinking." He told Derek and chuckled a little. He was becoming quite fluent in Derek-language to know what the werewolf was thinking. "I'm fine. I'm awake now. It was just a nightmare, okay? I'm perfectly fine." He hoped the little stutter his heart did when he told the lie wasn't heard.

"So, I guess you're here with a good reason."

"Yeah, about that…"

Derek let his eyes flash red for a few moments and Stiles let out an irritated sigh. It was going to be a long night.


	11. Chapter 11

Stiles woke up the next morning to his father's calls saying he had to get ready for school. The sinking sensation was gone, but so was Derek. The werewolf explained the strange situation to him last night, which was a bit odd, but Stiles knew Derek was really trying to keep up with the pack and make them trust him. He, personally, did, and while it was a shock for him when he first realized that, somewhere along the road he decided to trust the older werewolf with his life. So far, so good.

What scared the crap out of him was that it appeared that the Nemeton brought back Erica and Boyd, and while any other day it would've been extremely nice, if a bit creepy, that tree was gaining power and they weren't sure what to expect next. It meant they just had to prepare themselves even better.

* * *

"So, Derek dropped by last night." Stiles told Scott in an even tone when they saw each other at school. It seemed like it snowed all night and while a part of it melted away, the roads were still icy and slippery and everything was covered in white.

"I know." Scott answered him while grabbing his notes. "I guess you woke up with that drowning feeling too, huh?"

"Oh God, you too?"

"Yeah, and also Allison. Cleo came by my place too and I almost clawed her head off." The werewolf explained with a sigh. "She explained what happened and why Derek couldn't come by himself. Something about too much Alpha testosterone." Stiles gave him a curious look, but Scott only grimaced at his best friend. "Her words, not mine. Anyway, she wants us all at her house this afternoon."

"This thing is getting out of control." Stiles exclaimed with an annoyed huff, but the worry in his chest only became heavier.

"I know, dude. I know."

* * *

Derek knew it was a bad idea, he just knew. He's had enough of them to recognize it on the spot, but Cleo wouldn't even hear about it. Sure, going in the forest to check on the Nemeton seemed like an easy enough task, but with the events of last night still fresh in his mind, he was jittery about getting too close to that thing.

"I'll be fine." The fae assured him, but nonetheless handed him one of her guns. "It has iron bullets. Just in case of anything." Derek scoffed at the gun, but Cleo only gave him a knowing look. "Trust me, if that thing messes with my head you won't be able to get close enough to rip my head off." She said with a smile, but he could smell the nervousness coming from her.

"This is really a bad idea." The werewolf insisted, but Cleo only shook her head and started heading to the place where the Nemeton was. "Cleo." He called and she stopped at the sudden tiredness in his voice. "Promise me you won't hurt anybody."

"I promise."

Derek was only half-surprised when, almost half an hour later, he heard a scream piercing the forest. His body darted towards it before even realizing how familiar that voice sounded.

* * *

Stiles told Scott that they're gonna see each other at Cleo's house later, and then proceeded to get into his jeep and drive towards the forest. As terrified as he was of going back near the Nemeton, he felt the need to do it, to go there and see if he could find out something, anything about what happened last night. It felt just like any other time the Nemeton was calling him. Only this time he answered that call.

With every step he took he just felt the pull get stronger and stronger. His head was starting to throb, barely there at first, but as he got closer his headache was increasing and he had to stop and make sure his heart was still beating like it should. He didn't even see what hit him when he found himself painfully pinned to the cold and wet forest floor, a snarling and completely transformed Cleo on top of him. He was sure he let out some kind of scream when she tackled him, but the beating of his own heart in his ears was already taking over everything and panic hit him in a familiar wave.

He desperately tried to look for her necklace, desperately tried to look past her sharp teeth that were too close to his face, tried to somehow move from under her before she decided to do something she might regret later. He at least hoped his death would make her feel guilty.

She took a deep breath, face inches away from his as he tried to not let his head drop and keep looking her in the eyes. His mind was racing, trying to find something to say to her, something to make her understand that it was him who she seemed to seriously contemplate having for dinner, but he came up empty as he realized she wasn't moving.

Something was wrong. She had him pinned, had the upper hand, had the sharp teeth and yet she wasn't moving, only letting her red eyes dart over his face like she was seeing him the first time.

"Cleo?" He tried tentatively. "Cleo, it's Stiles. Remember Stiles? Awesome human in the werewolf pack Stiles? Went shopping with you like two days ago Stiles?" He saw her eyes trying to understand, to remember as she let out a pained sigh when he managed to somehow grab her wrist. One moment he was staring into big, confused eyes and the next they were gone, her entire weight lifted off him as he heard something heavy hit the forest ground.

Derek was the one who tackled Cleo and pinned her in the snow with much more force than she put on Stiles. His eyes were red and claws out, growling menacingly at the fae and Stiles couldn't help but let out a relieved sigh.

"Cleo, snap out of it!" Derek almost shouted at the fae and Stiles cringed at his tone because under all that "I'm-the-Alpha-hear-me-roar" there was poorly concealed worry and the shouting really didn't help with Stiles' now returning headache. The fae snarled, a horribly inhuman sound, and threw Derek off her with enough force he almost landed on his stomach. She was up on her feet and circling the werewolf, resembling a predator so much it almost made Stiles sick. He'd seen the werewolves training, he'd seen their battles, but this was a new level of supernatural displayed right in front of his own eyes and he was helpless.

"Cleo." She stopped at the sound of her name, tilting her head in a curious manner to stare at Derek. "Cleo, remember what you promised? Remember what you promised to me when you left? You promised not to hurt anybody, Cleo. Remember your promise?"

Derek's tone was exactly how you would expect him to talk to a child, and Stiles wasn't sure he could believe his ears. He decided to file that information for latter though as he heard the fae let out another pained sound, letting herself fall to her knees and holding her temples like her head was going to explode. Stiles wasn't feeling much better himself.

"Cleo, it's Derek." The werewolf was approaching her kneeling form with caution, still on alert. "You have to snap out of it, do you hear me? Snap out of whatever the Nemeton did to you. You have to wake up from it."

_Wake up, Stiles!_

The boy shut his eyes fast, groaning in pain as he felt his head throbbing even more. This couldn't happen. This wasn't a dream. He knew it wasn't a dream.

Cleo's shriek made him open his eyes again and look at the pair kneeling in the still fresh snow. He saw her eyes dart from him to Derek with something that closely resembled guilt and proceeded to drag her body back until she hit a tree, putting a safe distance between her and the werewolf. Derek shot Stiles a glance and immediately realized something was wrong with the boy.

"Go back, both of you." The fae managed to say loud enough for Stiles to hear her through the throbbing of his head. "Go back to my house. Now! I'll meet you there." Her tone was hurried, demanding, and it took Derek about three seconds to nod in her direction, get to Stiles and grab his wrist and leave the fae where she was while they made their way back to where Derek and Cleo left the car.

It wasn't until Derek tucked Stiles in the passenger seat, buckled him up and let both his eyes and hands wander over the boy to make sure he was alright, that he asked if he was alright.

"Did she hurt you? Are you alright?" His worried eyes made Stiles smile at him, even though he was starting to feel the consequences of being tackled in the middle of the forest.

"She didn't do anything to me. Only tackled me, but I'm used to that by now." He smirked as the older man frowned at him. "She seemed… confused. Like she wasn't actually aware where she was or what she was doing. I felt like it was the first time she looked at me."

Derek couldn't help but let out a relieved sigh hearing the boy wasn't hurt. Stiles started to fidget in his seat, so he figured it was time to get going. He felt a bit uneasy leaving Cleo alone in the forest, but he trusted her judgment and if she said she was going to meet them at her house, he believed her. He let himself slip in the driver's seat before the realization of what happened hit him.

"What were you doing alone in the forest?" He asked the boy with a scowl, but not really looking at him. "You can't exactly yell at me because it's the middle of the day and there are other people who take strolls through the forest in the middle of the day." Stiles grinned at him, but the werewolf heard the unsteady rhythm of his heart.

"Stiles." Derek threw him a warning glare. "I know when you're lying."

"Oh, you know me so well."

"_Stiles_."

"Okay, fine!" The boy huffed, turning his back to Derek and pointedly ignoring him in favor of looking out the window. "I had a hunch that if I go to the Nemeton, I'll maybe figure something out." He shrugged a bit, obviously disappointed. "The only thing I got was a headache and some bruises on my back though."

"It was calling you." Derek stated, not even bothering to conceal the annoyance in his voice.

"Something like that, yeah."

"And you were stupid enough to follow it?" Derek glared at him and Stiles returned it, obviously ineffective. "Well how was I supposed to know there would be a murderous fae in the forest?"

"There are witches heading our way and we're on a constant threat alert and you decide it's safe to do a little forest inspection? Cleo is one of the least threatening things that could've happened to you there!"

"Wow, you just got your Alpha-ness back and you're already starting to boss people around again. But I guess you never stopped that." The boy shot back, glaring at the werewolf who wasn't even looking at him. Derek let out an annoyed huff as he was parking in Cleo's driveway.

"Excuse me for trying to look out for my pack." The werewolf bit and got out of the car, slamming the door after him and went straight for the house, not even bothering to see if Stiles was coming with him or not.

The teen let his head hit the dashboard of the car with not too much force, groaning at nothing in particular. Sometimes he couldn't believe this guy! How was he only one person, he couldn't tell, because Derek Hale had so many layers, Stiles had a hard time keeping tabs on all of them.


	12. Chapter 12

"Stiles!" Erica beamed when the teen entered the house, and went to hug him without hesitation, letting him almost out of air.

"Wow, how welcoming of you." Stiles muttered to her, but hugged her back nonetheless. As scary as she might have been, he did miss her sometimes. He nodded and smiled at Boyd from over her shoulder, and his grin spread even wider when the other werewolf smiled back at him. Erica grabbed him tighter and lifted him, and Stiles let out a pained groan that unfortunately attracted everyone's attention.

"I smell blood. Why do you smell like blood?" Erica inquired and Scott was next to him in a second, looking concerned. "It's fine. Must've scratched my back earlier, it's probably nothing." Stiles didn't even notice Allison left the room until she returned, a first aid kit already in her hands.

"Come, let me have a look." She asked of him, and if her voice wouldn't be that soft, Stiles might've mistaken that for a command. He started to undress, feeling his muscles a bit sore and while he took a seat at the table in the dining room and Allison was cleaning his scratches, he took a look around.

"Where are Tweedledum and Tweedledee?" He asked, and with the corner of his eye he saw Danny tense. "Finally decided to leave us be?" Scott scoffed at him and Allison applied a bit too much pressure on his back and he let out a surprised yelp. "Don't be a jerk." She muttered to him and he shut his mouth.

"We don't know." Cora told him. "We couldn't find them last night. They were in the house when we all went to bed, but then the thing happened and they were just gone."

"Can't you track them?"

"They couldn't have left the house." Cleo explained when she entered the room with two bowls that were both filled with some thick liquid. Stiles couldn't help but shiver a little when the fae passed him in order to put the bowls on the table. "The protections were up. Nothing gets in, nothing gets out while those work."

"And we couldn't even catch their scent. It's like they vanished in thin air." Isaac chirped in to finish the explanation.

"What are you doing?" Lydia requested when she saw the fae with a small knife in her hand, hovering it above the two bowls. If Stiles wouldn't know better, he's say Lydia's tone was perfectly neutral, but he knew better and she was slightly panicked and more than curious.

"Protection spell." She turned to Stiles and threw a disapproving look at the shirt he was about to put back on since Allison finished bandaging the small scraped on his back. "Don't put that on yet. Actually, everyone, shirts off." She demanded and the proceeded to cut her palm, letting some of her own blood drip into one of the bowls while she was chanting something in a foreign language.

"Why does it require blood?" Lydia questioned further as she made no move to undress. Allison was by her side, and Cleo gestured to Erica and Cora to join then, deciding to deal with the girls last. "It's also a bonding spell. You'll be all bonded with me, and I'll be able to track you or tell if you're hurt." She explained while she stepped in front of Stiles, one of the bowls in her hand. She caught Scott's worried look at his pack and smiled at him. "Don't worry, you won't sense me. It's only my blood in here, the bond will work in only one direction."

She dipped one of her fingers in the bowl and covered it in the dark brown liquid, then raised it and started painting a complicated symbol on Stiles' sternum. The boy jumped a bit at first, muttering a "sorry, it's cold" at the fae without even looking at her. Finishing the symbol, she placed her hand gently on top of it, closing her eyes while she chanted.

"Subsisto tutus quod ego vadum reperio vos tutus. Subsisto tutis quod ego vadum reperio vos tutis."

"Stay safe and I shall find you safe. Stay secure and I shall find you secure." Lydia translated and Stiles gaped a little when he saw the symbol melting in his skin, the edges being the only thing remaining of it, just a faint proof it was even there. "That's an odd spell." She continued without batting a lash at the mysterious disappearance of the symbol.

"It's an old one too." The fae continued with the rest of them, drawing the same symbol on each of their sternums and then moved to the girls, drawing the symbol just above the bellybutton. Derek came in the dining room just as Cleo was finishing with Cora, and he did quirk an eyebrow up when he saw all the males without their shirts.

"You too." The fae demanded when he was ready to leave the room again. He scoffed at her, but stopped. "I already have that one."

"Not this one." They stared at each other for a good minute before the werewolf sighed and took off his shirt, annoyance clear on his face. He let out a half surprised sound when he felt something pierce his skin, drawing blood, and glared at Cleo as she was mixing his blood into the bowl as well. "A blood spell, great." He muttered to her, but she just smirked and drew the same symbol on his chest, chanting the same spell while pressing her palm on it.

"Nuh-uh, I'm not done yet." She said as she slapped Derek's hand when he tried to get dressed again. Picking the other bowl from the table, she headed to the older werewolf and he coughed when he sensed the smell.

"What the hell is that?"

"The best concealing spell there is." She made him turn his back at her and she went ahead, this time drawing three smaller symbols on his back with the odd smelling liquid in the other bowl. The chant she told this time was longer and it didn't even seem humanly possible to articulate it.

"What language is that?" Scott inquired at the same time Stiles spoke.

"Their eyes may never recognize your hidden nature, for you are concealed from unwanted looks, protection from the Father Himself granted."

Cleo's eyes went wide as she stared at the teen, complete shock all over her face while the others were eyeing her and Stiles curiously. "What do you mean what language?" Stiles laughed at Scott, preferring to ignore the stares he was getting. "She spoke that one in English."

"No, I didn't." The fae said slowly, still looking at the teen completely baffled.

"Wha- then why did I hear it in English? It was definitely English." Stiles was equally confused when he saw Cleo inhale a deep breath and close her eyes. "What kind of concealing spell was it?" Derek poked the fae in the ribs, eyebrows furrowed in a concerned look.

"It's very old Enochian magic." She responded, still not taking her eyes off the teen. "It's angel magic." Letting out a breath she wasn't even aware she was holding, she gripped the bowl tighter and tried to relax. "Stiles, humans can't speak or understand Enochian."

* * *

**The plot is getting deeper and I'm just getting more and more frustrated with this whole thing because ugh so many idea so little time**


	13. Chapter 13

In the end, Derek was the one who made all of them shut up after a few minutes of continuous questioning.

"Are you sure what he translated was the actual spell?"

"_Angels_? Angel magic? What are you even talking about?"

"But Enochian has still writing forms, he might've…"

"Dude, this isn't like that time you accidentally learnt Dutch and wouldn't stop calling everyone a wingless chicken for a week, right?"

"You _accidentally_ learnt Dutch?!"

"I thought it was old Irish!"

"I thought you said he was human." Derek spoke and that immediately shut everyone up.

"He _is_ human." The fae said, but she was still eyeing Stiles. "He is human." She repeated, sounding almost like she was convincing herself of her words. "Do you smell anything other than human on him?" She inquired and Derek shrugged at her, the pack just watching their conversation silently.

"Do you?" The older werewolf asked and Cleo fell silent.

"He smells human. He feels human. I don't… he doesn't seem to have anything to do with anything supernatural. I can't be sure, of course, not unless…" She gestured to the boy and he quickly caught on.

"Do you need to taste my blood like you did with Lydia? I'm okay with that. Surprisingly okay with that since my humanity is at stake here." Stiles said, gesturing vaguely with his hands, his face in an unreadable expression much to everyone's concern.

"That's the thing." Cleo responded and let her shoulders slump a little, almost like she was trying to hide herself. "I can't."

"What? But why?" Stiles' eyes went wide with realization, his lips settling in a tight line. "Is this about… does it have anything to do with before?" He saw Derek tense besides the fae and he didn't miss the way her eyes closed and jaw tensed when he mentioned it.

"No, it's… it has nothing to do with that."

"But?" Because he was absolutely sure there was a "but" there somewhere and his whole body was trembling with anticipation, his stomach already doing nervous flips and his heart rate was quickly going up.

"But, in the eventuality that you aren't… completely human, in the eventuality that you do have some kind of angelic grace in you…" Cleo stopped and shut her eyes even tighter, and spoke only after she opened them again, still not looking at Stiles. "Angels are warriors. They are the ultimate supernatural weapon; they can kill anything with just a touch. Anything. If you have an angelic part, tasting you blood to check your lineage is going to kill me." She let out a frustrated sigh, rubbing her face with her free hand, bowl with unknown liquid still gripped tightly.

"Let's just get this over with." She muttered more to herself, then proceeded to paint the same strange looking symbols on everyone's backs, mumbling the same words and each time Stiles would mumble them after her, sighing heavy and heavier after each of them. When she finished with all of them, Cleo took the bowls and left the dining room only to come back a few moments after and start to give each of them small brown bags.

"Keep them on you at any time." She instructed. "I don't care where, just have them on you or in immediate reach when you shower, and have them all the time."

"You threw so much magic bullshit at us today, what are these for now?" Isaac asked when he took his bag and carefully put it in his jeans' front pocket. "Hex bags, obviously." The fae retorted and didn't bother with further explanation. She went again and handed Scott, Allison, Stiles, Lydia and Danny one more, shrugging when Allison looked at her confused and muttering a "for your parents too" to them.

"Feel free to do whatever you please." She gestured sharply with her hand and left them, the door to the library opening and closing shortly after that.

"Stiles." Scott called softly and the boy turned to him with his usual grin, even though it was a bit forced.

"So, I guess you're handling well the whole Derek-is-an-Alpha-again since you're not ripping each other's throats. That' great buddy, you can totally make the split dominance thing work, though you should probably let him take Mondays since you know how you get at the beginning of a new week."

"Stiles." Lydia sighed, making her way near the boy and placing a tentative hand on his forearm.

"I'm fine, Lydia. Really, completely fine. Why should the fact that I apparently understand a supernatural language freak me out?" He pattered her hand reassuringly, and got up. "Stranger things have happened to me." He waved them good-bye and without even looking at them and was out the door as fast as his feet could carry him.

* * *

He turned around at least three times. Each time he walked a couple feet and then stopped, stood there for a few seconds, and turned back around. This was stupid. It was stupid and childish and Laura would laugh at him so hard if she could see him. He was a grown man, for God's sake! He was a werewolf, he was a leader, and he had a pack. Why was one tiny conversation he needed to have with a human affecting him so much?

Eventually, he did end up in front of the Stilinski house, and just as he was about to knock the door opened and the Sheriff was half glaring at him, his reading glasses on and a pen in one of his hands.

"Are you going to come in now or would you like to take a couple more strolls in front of my house?" John asked, even though some amusement escaped through his carefully constructed façade. Derek couldn't help letting out a confused mumble, but still followed the Sheriff inside, muttering a "thank you, sir" just as the man let him know Stiles was upstairs. He still wasn't sure about the man's feelings about his presence in his son's life, even though he was pretty certain they weren't content ones, but still Derek felt a bit more accepted now that the Sheriff knew what was actually happening in his town.

He knocked on the boy's door, a tentative "Stiles?" flying from his lips when he peeked inside the room only to find the teen in a burrito of blankets, curtains draw and lights out, the whole room only lit by the light that was coming from his laptop.

"You have no idea how much lore there is on angels, dude." The teen almost sighed and Derek took that as an invitation and let himself fall gently at the end of the bed. "I thought werewolves and vampires were bad, but this? Man, I think I need years to sort all of this out." He gestured vaguely at the laptop screen, even though Derek couldn't see what he was reading. "I don't even have any idea what could enter the "possibly-real" category here."

"Maybe you should try more reliable sources." Derek suggested but Stiles only snorted at his words. "Yeah, like what? The internet is literally the key to anything supernatural, let me tell you that."

"Last I checked, there were a few angel references in the Bible." The werewolf retorted, a smug smirk playing at his mouth. "But well, what do I know?" The boy fell silent for a couple seconds before humming in approval. "That might be a good idea." He threw Derek one the fewer and fewer sincere smiles he gave lately.

They fell into a comfortable silence for a while, only their breaths and the occasional sound of the keypad interrupting it. When Derek made a sort of whimpering and impatient sound in the back of his throat, Stiles threw him a glance, sighed, and then proceeded to squirm his way towards one side of the bed, patting the newly made space beside him until the werewolf got the clue and reluctantly laid there, not without trying to seem annoyed by it.

"I talked to Scott." Derek finally said when he took his eyes off from the laptop screen. "About the Alpha thing." He saw Stiles pause with his hands hovering above the keypad as the teen gave an approving hum.

"I- we argued."

"I figured since it took you so long to come here." Stiles responded him with a small grin and Derek cleared his throat before continuing. "Yeah, I guess it was unavoidable. But we decided we'll keep things the same. It wouldn't be a good idea to split the pack now, because that was the only other option we had. And I… well, we both realized it wouldn't be fair to make any of you choose where your loyalty lies and with the Nemeton and the witches…" He shrugged, more in a gesture of "what can you do?" than anything and Stiles patted his forearm.

"It's best we stick together." The teen approved. "There's safety in numbers."

"Are you okay?" Derek asked before he could stop himself. He felt Stiles get stiff beside him, a wave of uneasiness and confusion coming from him as his heart rate went up. Derek's hand automatically went to grab the boy's wrist, fingers pressed on his pulse point in a quiet attempt to calm him down.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Good. It's just… I guess it's weird to finally have confirmation." Stiles muttered, not looking at Derek while the words sunk in. "Confirmation? What- oh…"

"Yeah." He tried to smile at the werewolf beside him but he was convinced it was a bit too forced. "So, you knew?"

"Not really, no. I had… suspicions." The laptop screen went black, leaving both of them in darkness, but Stiles made no move to open it again. "I never thought- well, I hoped they were just coincidences. It was rare enough to happen anyway. Sometimes I just happened to know stuff, like that time I knew Scott would have a surprise algebra test that I made him study really hard for, or how I knew my next door neighbor would fall off his ladder when he'll put his Christmas decorations on. Small stuff, you know? And never affecting me directly." He shrugged in the dark, a small grin threatening to spread on his face. "For some time I thought I was psychic and I kept trying to read everyone's mind."

"I wonder how that went." Derek muttered next to him and Stiles couldn't help but laugh a little. "Yeah, not good." He supplied, and Derek was glad some of the uneasiness the boy was feeling was gone. Silence fell again, and while Derek kept struggling to find something, anything to say, not completely comfortable with Stiles not speaking, they heard the Sheriff from downstairs calling them.

"Stiles? Get Derek and come to dinner!" The boy gave Derek's hand a quick squeeze and only then did the werewolf realize he was still holding him by the wrist. He let go quickly to allow Stiles to get out of his blankets while the teen shouted a "coming, dad!" at his father downstairs.

* * *

When Derek got back to Cleo's house he found Erica, Boyd, Isaac and Cora all tangled with each other and wrapped in blankets on the couch in the living room, all of them almost asleep while watching some sort of reality TV show. He was sure he snickered a little when he saw them like that, and Cora's head became visible above the couch, eyes barely focusing on her brother. When he muttered an almost silent "others?" to her she just shook her head, indicating they were the only ones who stayed there, which wasn't a surprise considering they temporarily moved there.

He sighed and headed to the library, convinced that was where he would find the fae and talk to her. This whole situation was slowly getting out of control, and while they still had time until the approximated date of the attack, the Nemeton wasn't making their work easier.

The library was a mess. Considering it was a fairly big room with two walls covered in books up to the ceiling, it was hard enough to mess with it, yet somehow Cleo managed exactly that. Books were spread everywhere on the floor, not even giving him enough space to move around. He noticed some ripped pages, but most books were closed and looked like they were thrown across the room. It looked like a tornado passed through there and considering his past experiences with the fae, it wasn't that far from the truth.

It seemed strange that Cleo wasn't anywhere to be seen. He stopped and listened intensely, trying to pinpoint her exact location in the house, but in vain. There were only four heartbeats audible, and those belonged to his pack in the living room. He felt a growl forming in the back of his throat when he realized where all the clues pointed, and exited the library faster than he anticipated, heading straight to the front door and almost managed to rip the doorknob out with how much force he opened it.

Her car was gone.

"Hey, where's Cleo?"

"She said something about needing to find a thing." Isaac muttered back to him from the couch. "Said it wouldn't take long."

He cursed under his breath, containing himself from punching something. The fact that she was gone could mean nothing, he thought. She may actually need something from town. She'll be back. She wouldn't leave them now.

Would she?

He got back to the library and started picking up the books spread all across the room without much thought at what he was doing. When his eyes landed on one of the few open books, he picked that up, forgetting about the others. Surprisingly, it was in English, even if it was poorly written and half unreadable. Most old books were like that, he recalled, thinking back at his family's library where most books would have to go to his grandma first since she was the only one who could decipher more than a few words from them.

He felt the book almost slipping out of his hands when the words started making sense, a sick sensation already filling his stomach and making his pulse spike. He vaguely heard the others move in the living room and soon the four members of his pack were all over him, calling his name and asking if he was alright.

He wasn't. But he knew why Cleo left in such a hurry. He didn't know for what, but he knew why.

"I know what the witches are after."


	14. Chapter 14

It wasn't until the whole pack was gathered at the fae's house Wednesday directly after school that Derek got tired of unanswered texts and started calling her. He called and called between explaining the pack what the witches were after and each of them coming up with new theories, but in vain. Cleo's habit of disappearing in the middle of a crisis was starting to really piss him off. He was on his fifth call when the smell of blood hit his nose and his body tensed immediately, the other werewolves quickly catching up with him as they all but stumbled in the kitchen.

"What's with the rush?"

Derek's seen her worse than that. In fact, it wasn't even her blood that covered both her hands and forearms and most of her shirt.

"Where the hell have you been?" He growled at her, getting closer just to make sure she was unharmed. She huffed gently, but pushed past him and went to the sink, scrubbing at her arms until all the blood washed off.

"I followed a hunch and it turned out I was right. And step away from the basement door, please." Derek did as he was told, even though he realized that was where the smell of blood came from. "I know what the witches want."

"We do too, apparently." Stiles jumped in, forearms crossed across his chest. "Why are you covered in blood?"

"Witch." She answered with a shrug.

"Which I guess you tortured in the basement." Derek felt the pack getting more anxious when the words left his mouth and the fae didn't deny them. "I needed the information." She simply said and then, with something akin confusion. "Wait, when did you find out what the witches are after?"

"When I had to check the library after you were gone and found out about this Book of Soyga."

"We checked, but the only known copies of this book are in England, so I guess the witches are looking for one that isn't known to the world." Stiles supplied, but Cleo just shook her head at them.

"The witches already have the Aldaraia. The original one, nonetheless. While it is, without doubt, one of the most important books about the supernatural, and it contains all the information that the people of those times managed to gather on the hidden part of the world, it's useless."

"Useless? What do you mean by that?" Lydia stepped aside Stiles, her hands also crossed over her chest.

"It's said that the Aldaraia possesses the key to immortality, a very complex spell that made at the right time, can make you live forever. Of course, everyone thought it was just a myth. There were supernaturals that checked the copies in England, and while they were interesting, they had no trace of magic whatsoever. Those two are the ones the humans know about, but there are three more known copies circulating within the supernatural circles, plus the original manuscript that seems to be now in the possession of the coven."

"But shouldn't the original one be the one with this spell? Since they were the ones that found about it and wrote it down." Stiles questioned and the fae smiled at him.

"It should, but apparently something's missing from it."

"Something like what?" They questioned further, anxious about the answer, but Cleo only shrugged.

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"I mean I don't know, that's why I have a witch trapped in the basement."

"So, you just tortured someone because you had a hunch?" She was well aware of the looks she was getting from the teens, but she couldn't bring herself to care for them now, not when they found out the goal of their enemies.

"No, I tortured someone because we needed information." The smile she threw them was predatory and a cold shiver ran down Derek's spine. "I found out all of the above from her. She let the part about the missing piece slip, so now we're playing the waiting game with her until she's willing to talk. It might take some convincing, but I'll find out eventually." She sighed and made a move towards the door when she heard Scott's growl.

"But do you have to _torture_ her? Isn't there some kind of truth spell you can put on her?"

"Do you have time to question my moralities?" She countered, jaws clenched. "You should be training. The full moon is in three weeks, you think you're ready to take out an entire coven?"

"Cleo." Derek warned, but the fae just flashed her red eyes at him. "A truth spell would take weeks." She continued, even though she was balling her fists. "We don't have weeks. We need to find out how to stop them from getting their hands on the spell."

* * *

By Friday morning the witch was gone and the kitchen and basement smelled of cleaning products which made Derek stay away from there for a while after he opened the windows. Cleo was in her room with the door closed, which was her sign of "stay the hell away from me". Boyd and Erica were at Boyd's home with his grandma since they cleared everything with the Sheriff. Both teens were reported as missing, and after they made up a plausible story of them trying to run away, they were cleared and could move freely around the town again. Unfortunately for Erica, she had to find out her father passed from a heart attack and her mother returned to Minnesota, her birth place. After a lot of tears over the phone, it was decided her mother would come back for a few days in the course of the next week, even though Erica made it clear to her that she wouldn't leave Beacon Hills.

When Stiles asked about the witch that afternoon when they were at the improvised shooting range, Cleo just shrugged and told them she disposed of her. Derek understood the implications of her answer, and apparently Scott did too, because he got pissed, which in turn got Cleo angry, which in turn got the rest of the pack nervous and Derek got a headache. It wasn't Scott's fault though, the boy was a bundle of sunshine and kindness, even with everything that went so wrong in his life, and judging the fae for murdering someone seemed exactly the kind of stuff he did. Unfortunately, Cleo didn't take it well, and Derek understood that too. She was starved and dealing with a pack of teen werewolves while also looking for information on something called the Voynich manuscript, but the older werewolf had to admit that it wasn't Scott's brightest idea to confront the fae while she was holding a gun.

Fortunately for them, it ended without any kind of incidents, except for the venomous looks the whole pack got from Cleo. She called the training off, gathered her stuff and got everything in her car. She paused before getting in, turned to Scott and let out a pained sigh in his direction.

"I don't expect you to understand, Scott. I was born in a time of war and destruction and death. Sometimes I crave it."

And with that she left the stunned pack behind.

* * *

"Your Voynich manuscript turned out to be just what its name suggests: a piece of crap." Peter announced when he entered the house, discarding of his coat and scarf and making himself comfortable on one of the big armchairs in the living room. Cleo wouldn't even consider putting her protection spells on him at first, but after a lot of convincing from Derek, she reluctantly accepted and even threw him one of the small hex bags that allowed him free passage in the house, among other things. Of course, he didn't need to know that, Cleo reminded Derek and the werewolf agreed.

"I'm aware of that." The fae retorted from where she was curled on the couch, her laptop somehow squeezed on her lap. "I'm checking it out now, found the online copy."

"I let the word out that I'm in need of some information about it." Peter said and got up from where he was, heading for the kitchen. "Is there any coffee?" Cleo only shot him a puzzled glance, but muttered "coffee pot" back to him.

The front door opened and was held open long enough to allow some cold air to travel through the house. Soon the living room was filled with teenagers, each plopping down somewhere with no apparent intention of moving in the near future. Derek let himself fall beside Cleo on the couch, Stiles and Scott following shortly, while Cora climbed the armrest on Cleo's side and Allison curled herself around Scott on the couch. Boyd and Erica took the armchair that was previously occupied by Peter and just smiled sweetly at him when he returned to the living room with a cup of coffee in his hand. Lydia took the other armchair just for herself while Isaac sat on the floor in front of the couch, seemingly perfectly happy in sitting with his back against Scott's legs. Peter just went and got himself one of the chairs from the dining room and placed it not too far from the door. Everyone was still reticent around him, he knew that, so he wasn't going to make them uncomfortable on purpose, even though it would be fun. He decided it was best for him to play nice for a while.

After the twins mysteriously vanished, they decided to keep Danny out of the whole werewolf business for a while. The boy refused to go back to being kept in the dark at first, but they managed to convince him it was for his own good and while he accepted and stopped coming to the training sessions and pack meetings, he still demanded information about new developments every day.

Scott was the one who broke the comfortable silence in the room.

"Hey, Cleo, about earlier…"

"Don't worry about it, sweetheart." She waved a hand in his direction without even looking at him and the boy couldn't help but frown at her.

"No, please listen." She turned to him with a sigh and a controlled neutral expression on her face. "It wasn't my place to say the things I said, and I'm sorry for that. And while I still disagree with your, uhm, methods, it did get us information we needed so there's that." Cleo raised her hand, a gentler expression on her face when she looked at the young werewolf.

"You're young, Scott, young and incredibly, truly human. I am not. I'm from a completely different book, so I don't expect you to understand or approve of my methods. Thank you, really, for being so considerate, but this isn't your fault at all. Everything you said was true, but please keep in mind that I am trying to help you."

"I know." Scott nodded in her direction, a small smile spread on his lips. Before he could say anything else, Stiles' hands covered his mouth, looking panicky from his best friend to the fae that was also smiling.

"Don't say "thank you" to her." Stiles warned and everyone adopted a confused expression at his words, including the fae. When she did realize what he was talking about, her laugh echoed in the room.

"Stiles, people have thanked me for over two hundred years. When I want someone to remember what I did for them, I usually just tell them."

"What was that about?" Cora inquired over Cleo's shoulder, but Stiles looked at the fae with a focused expression.

"There are only a few constants about fae folk and one of them is that they hate hearing "thank you" from people as it is seen as a gesture of forgetting the good deed done." Stiles explained and Cleo just let herself lean over Derek to pat the teen's arm. "Next time just ask, okay sweetheart? Though there are still those who go with that, so if a fae does something good for you just say "I'll remember your doing" instead of thanking them, okay?"

"Sure." He shrugged, but then turned back to the fae, a hint of a smirk playing on his lips. "Speaking of unanswered questions, I still have a few." He said and almost all the werewolves groaned. Cleo just looked amused. "Okay, shoot."

"How familiar are you with werewolf anatomy?" He asked before he got up from his spot, went to his backpack in the hallway and came back with the same notebook he had on their trip to Redding. Cleo couldn't help but laugh when she saw Isaac desperately trying to get Scott to leave the room while also trying to not get noticed.

"Pretty familiar considering I've been married to one for thirteen years." The boy paused from his fumbling with the notebook and it seemed for a second the whole room took a deep breath to take the information in. "So, what do you want to know?"

"Uhm, yeah." Stiles cleared his throat, pen and notebook ready in his hands while the fae snickered in his direction. "We already established that mates are a thing, even if only for Alphas, but is there a connection between the two? Some kind of bond? Is it different from the pack bond? And what happens when the mate is not a werewolf?"

"Slow down, Stiles, I can't answer everything at once." Cleo had to put her laptop away, making herself more comfortable in her little couch corner. "There is a bond, yes, but not that much different from the pack bond except it's stronger. It has to be consumed in order for both of them to feel the bond, since only Alphas get mates but if the mate is also an Alpha, they can both feel it even before it's consumed. The bond allows them to feel their mate and pick up certain moods or emotions and also acts like some kind of supernatural GPS system. The Alpha recognizes their mate by smell the first time, but nobody actually knows how partners are chosen." She shrugged at Stiles as the young man was making notes. "There are a lot of legends, but one thing is for sure: it's permanent. Once an Alpha knows their mate, they won't want anyone else. Sure, some may deny themselves that. Try to fight the bond." Stiles stopped writing, staring intently at the fae and even though her gaze wasn't focused on something in particular, there was something in her tone that made him think she knew from experience what she was talking about.

"The thing is the bond doesn't fade for them, no matter how much they try to keep it in control. The longer they go without their mate, the unhappier they'll be. And when the Alpha suffers, the whole pack suffers." It was quick, but she let her eyes trail towards Derek before she stopped herself and looked at Stiles with a contemplative look on her face. "Like I said, nobody knows how the mates are actually chosen, so the Alpha can end up with anyone. Anything else?"

"I hate to interrupt this beautiful lesson, but I believe we have company." Peter spoke when he came back from the kitchen after getting another cup of coffee. "Care to explain why there is a fae and a giant man standing in front of your house?"

Everyone was at the windows in a matter of seconds, while Cleo got up and headed to the door.

"I called for them, obviously."


	15. Chapter 15

Cleo opened the door for the two strangers and then headed back to the living room, removing her necklace in the process and giving it to Stiles.

"Make yourselves at home." She called while passing a hand through her now short hair and crossed her arms over her chest waiting for her guests to get rid of their coats. The pack was scattered through the living room, some sitting and some standing when the two men entered.

Stiles felt his breath catch in his throat. The pair consisted of two blond-haired men that were practically shining. The teen was pretty sure nothing could ever top that level of attractiveness. The smaller one (which was a huge understatement considering he was at least 6 feet, Stiles thought) took a step towards Cleo, his bright blue eyes shining when he took the other fae's hand and gently pushed his lips on the back of her fingers. Stiles noticed how carefully the man avoided touching Cleo's marks and filed that information for later, when he wasn't busy staring at the other man that came with the fae. He understood why everyone thought Isaac resembled an angel, with the curly hair and blue eyes, but this man could make Isaac look repulsing. He was somewhere around 6'4, Stiles approximated, with blond curls that fell on his shoulders and the brightest blue eyes Stiles had ever seen. He was filling the dark pants and white Henley quite nice too and when Stiles got a look at his hands… well, let's just say he was glad none of the supernatural creatures that were in the room could read his mind.

Except Derek totally did, because those were definitely his "I know what you're thinking" eyebrows that he was throwing at Stiles and the teen was pretty sure his whole face was red while Derek tried not to look amused, even though Stiles was pretty sure there was something else in his look too.

"Callan." Cleo addressed the other fae. "I'm surprised you responded so soon."

"I was in the neighborhood." The blond fae gestured vaguely behind him at the other man. "This is Eleazar." Cleo raised her eyebrows at the man who just nodded towards her, a small smile playing with her lips.

"I always knew you liked to live dangerously, but screwing around with God's creations?" Both faes laughed and Stiles could feel his pack was getting more anxious the more time passed and the strange men didn't explain themselves. "I do like myself a challenge." Callan retorted and turned to smile at the other man and only then it downed on Stiles what was actually happening and he couldn't help the frustrated growl he let out. Immediately the blond fae's eyes were on him, studying Stiles a bit too intensely.

"He's a smart one." That Callan shouldn't remind Stiles of a puppy with the way he tilted his head. "I guess he's the reason you demanded me a Nephilim, hm?" He was smiling at Cleo with a certain fondness, but then he moved his gaze to the pack, taking everyone in. "Interesting bunch. Who's the Alpha?" Both Scott and Derek stepped aside from Stiles and let their position be known. The fae blinked at them, surprised for a few moments, before turning his eyes on Cleo and then back at the two Alphas. "Now that's even more interesting. You're not mated. Well, at least not with each other." His eyes fell back on Cleo with a certain curiosity. "Why…"

He didn't get to finish before Cleo raised her hand. "It's a new development but they're adapting. Now, did you bring it?" Callan sighed and headed back to the hallway, coming back with what appeared to be a thick book covered in leather and handing it to Cleo. Before the redhead made herself comfortable on the couch, she turned to the other man that was still standing near the door. "Eleazar, we have some suspicions regarding Stiles' heritage. Maybe you would be able to bring some light in the matter?"

"I will try." His accent was strange, like he wasn't sure about the way the words rolled from his tongue, but he caught Stiles' gaze and nodded to the teen. "Thank you. Stiles, you can go to the dining room." Cleo waved him off and with a quick glance at Scott and Derek who gave him a shrug, respectively a frown, he made the man a sign to follow him. Not even a few seconds after Stiles was out of the room, Derek was already sitting in the chair Peter brought earlier from the dining room since it was the closest to that door. Cleo gave him an amused glance, and she could feel the uneasiness and tension coming from the werewolf. If the chair hadn't been there, she was pretty sure Derek would have plastered himself to the wall that separated the living room from the dining room.

"Well, then." Cleo gently placed the book in her lap, hovering a hand over it and closing her eyes. Her lips were moving, but no sound came out and the book opened suddenly, pages flying almost until the end where they just stopped. The redhead took a deep breath, opened her eyes and stared at the now open book in front of her.

"Well?" Scott inquired after a few moments of silence in with Cleo only stared baffled at the page.

"It's just a list." Her frown deepened as her eyes were scanning the page. She felt Lydia come beside her to take a peek of it, but didn't bother to make her go away. "It doesn't make any sense."

"Nymph?" Lydia asked from beside her. "Am I reading that right?"

"Yeah, nymphs are forest spirits. They're pretty common in old forests. Some of the supernaturals listed here are pretty common, see? Human witch and human sorcerer. Light sorcerer. I figure a dark sorcerer isn't very common, but again, not hard to find. Loyal pack, nymph, hunter family, a bound ghost, again fairly common. A redeemed vampire and a full shifter would take more work."

"A possessed human? Possessed by what?" The other redhead inquired again. "Probably demon." The fae shrugged.

"Fallen Alpha, born Alpha and true Alpha? It's werewolves, right?" Lydia asked again. "What's a bringer of death?" The fae waved a hand in her direction while she started to look through other pages. "Banshees were called that in the old times." As soon as the words left her mouth, Cleo paused and the room tensed. The pages flew back to the list as she went over it once again, her heart beat increasing.

"Cleo?" Derek asked and was already halfway up, his eyes going from the fae to the door to the dining room where Stiles' heart beat was steady as he talked to Eleazar. He saw the fae's hands trembling as she took her phone out of her pocket and took a picture of the book while trying to even her breath. She offered no explanation for her panic and instead pinned Callan with her eyes.

"What do you know about the Voynich manuscript?"

The other fae just waved his hand dismissively in her direction. "Nobody knows anything about that, that's the problem. It was written in the early 15th century, but nobody ever discovered what it was about or who wrote it. There have been others before me who studied it and never discovered anything, so I was never very interested in it."

"Okay, but what about the missing pages?" Cleo requested, her patience beginning to fade.

"Ah, now that's an interesting subject. Eleazar!" The Nephilim was at his side a few moments after, Stiles quietly following him and letting himself fall on the armrest next to Lydia. "Please explain to dear Cleo here what happened with the missing pages of the Voynich." The man looked confused for a few moments before he turned to Cleo with something resembling a grimace.

"Nothing is known of their presence after they were stolen around the beginning of the 20th century. They were in the possession of a certain occult art dealer when one night his mansion was broken in, the pages stolen and the thief gone. This happened in Poland circa 1903 and a Nephilim by the name of Wojciech was suspected of it, but nobody heard of him ever since. They tried and failed to find him and the pages are lost ever since."

"Only suspected?"

"Whoever broke in appeared to have the ability to fly." The Nephilim explained and Cleo nodded at him, already deep in thought.

"Can't you track him?" Lydia asked again, but the fae shook her head. "I'm fairly sure they already tried that. He's most likely warded, if he's still alive."

"Can't you track the pages then?" Stiles inquired but was again met with a negative answer.

"Well, then." Callan suddenly interrupted, already on his feet. "Unfortunately, that is all the information we can give you, my dear. Would you like me to leave you the copy of the Aldaraia?" Cleo nodded at him, her fingers gripping the book in question tightly. "Very well. If you'll excuse us now, princess, we'll be on our way." He made a complicated bow in front of Cleo, caught her fingers and raised them to his forehead then kissed them gently. Eleazar nodded in her direction, but she extended her hand and after a few seconds of confusion, the Nephilim took it and shook, a small smile playing on his full lips.

"I apologize we couldn't be of more help." Callan said to her when they were getting dressed. He slipped her a piece of paper and she nodded gratefully. "Call me if you need anything, okay dear?" She suddenly grabbed his arm, squeezing gently and not looking at him.

"Have you heard anything from… them, lately?"

"Some new gateways were opened, but I never heard where." He made a motion to cover her hand but stopped suddenly and she laughed. "It's okay." Cleo said to him with a smile and he gently placed his hand on hers.

"I never understood how you can do it." Callan muttered to her. "Everyone can just… touch them and not know what they can do." She huffed at him and rolled her eyes.

"Goodbye, Callan. Eleazar."

"Farewell, your Majesty."

When Cleo returned to the living room, Stiles extended his hand to give her medallion back and she took it gratefully, putting it back on and almost collapsed on the couch. Surprisingly, the pack was silent until Peter broke the stillness.

"Your Majesty? I never pictured you as the role-playing type." The fae groaned at him, but didn't bother to respond to him.

"So, what's with this list?" Stiles inquired, ignoring Peter's smirk. Cleo only muttered a "no" in his direction and made a motion to the teen to speak. "What? Oh, what I discussed with Eleazar?" Stiles sighed and fell from the armrest on the couch, nudging Cleo to make him more space as he spread on half the couch, his head on her lap and his feet going on the armrest. "He confirmed I have some angel blood in me, but only a bit. Most likely my grandfather was a Nephilim-slash-human child. But except understanding angel speak, I can't do much. He said something about being able to work with magic, but apparently it's a 50/50 chance I could actually control it."

"Your mother's side?" Cleo asked and he felt him nod his head in approval.

"Okay, now about that list." The teen nudged her in the ribs with a finger, making her jolt a little.

"It's not just a list." She sighed. "All those supernaturals are ingredients for the spell."

* * *

**Well this took forever and oh god i'm still surprised people read this story and leave feedback thank you dears you're all cuties**


	16. Chapter 16

"So, basically the witches have the ingredients but not the recipe."

"Yes, but…" Cleo looked around her living room, the young pack waiting for her to explain with different degrees of confusion on their faces. "Well, neither do we. And all this", she shook the book in her hand, "started some time ago. All the supernaturals listed here are sacrifices. Each and every one of them has an incredible amount of energy. I can't be sure, I'll have to check, but I think they started about nine months ago."

"But the Nemeton was only brought back to life last autumn." Allison pointed out.

"Could it be that", Stiles continued while still occupying most of the couch, "they need a sacred place, but not necessary this one. Maybe they started with the sacrifices and then changed their plans when they found out the Nemeton was alive again." Cleo hummed in approval. "It's a possibility, yes."

"Why nine months ago?" Scott asked, eyebrows raised at the fae. "What happened nine months ago?"

"Three of the sacrifices were made then. It only makes sense now." Her pose was tense when she answered. "A loyal pack, a fallen Alpha and a born Alpha were all killed late May last year."

"Your pack." Isaac whispered almost without thinking and she nodded at him. "This list puts all of you in danger." She continued. "Look at that: a true Alpha, a bringer of death, a family of hunters, angel blood. Scott, a true Alpha only occurs once every century. Banshees aren't that common in the States and while Allison and her father might not be their targeted family, the witches would consider the Argents since your number has been considerably reduced. And Nephilims are rare, and you're an easier target Stiles since you're only a small part angel." She stopped and thought for a second. "I'm most likely a target too, considering they also need fae blood and there are only three more faes besides me in the country and I checked with all of them yesterday."

"So then, what's the plan?" Stiles asked quietly, stretching his body and getting off the couch.

"Easy." Isaac replied. "We go after them and kill them all."

"I like the way you think, kid." Peter spoke. "But doing that is dumb and most likely lethal."

"Unfortunately, I have to agree with Peter here. Going after them is unnecessary and could get most of you killed." Cleo sighed and started to pace around the room.

"So what, we stay here and wait for them to come to us and hope we'll get them by surprise and not the other way around?" Allison almost hissed. "I don't want to wait around just to get killed."

"We do need to take them out." Derek acknowledged. "But not directly."

"They need the Nemeton, right?" Stiles wondered and Lydia soon caught on his trail of thought. "If we take the Nemeton out, they won't have a reason to come here." She said, a small smile on her lips.

"It's not that easy." The fae replied. "It gathered power from all those deaths, and drawing the energy from it will be complicated and possibly dangerous. But it could be done, with some effort." She seemed to think the idea through.

"But wouldn't that just make them look for another place for the sacrifice?" Boyd spoke for the first time and Cleo turned to him with an almost sad smile. "Yes, it probably will."

"Still, they don't have the spell. The sacrifices are worthless without the spell." Derek managed to say even though he saw how the fae winced at the word "worthless".

"So we just need to find the spell before they do." Stiles chimed, making the statement seem so easy. "We get it, we destroy it, we finish the Nemeton after that and voilà! no witches heading our way." He got a few weird glances from his pack, but it wasn't a problem, he was used to them. Plus, as simple as it sounded, it was a good plan, he knew that, even though the details were painfully complicated and possibly life-threatening.

Cleo threw him a brilliant smile when she said "sounds like a plan".

* * *

"Stiles?" The fae called after him when he was almost out the door. "Can I talk to you for a bit?" The boy nodded goodbye to the half of his pack that wasn't currently living under Cleo's roof and turned around, heading to the kitchen where he knew she would be. Derek was there too, leaning against the wall besides the door while Cleo was putting boiled water in three cups.

"We're going to have a little chat." She declared as she put various liquids from small bottles in the tea mix. "And after that you're gonna crash here. And I don't want to hear a word about it, you barely slept a few hours the last four days."

"I, uhm… how do you even know that?" Stiles muttered, looking a bit guilty. It wasn't his fault the increased supernatural energy around Beacon Hills made the Nemeton keep him awake.

"Despite the fact that you look like you're ready to fall into a coma any minute now?" She asked, eyebrow quirked upwards, before handing both Stiles and Derek cups with steaming tea. "We're still bonded." She gestured vaguely around the three of them and then left, her own cup in hand and both boys following her, apparently into the library.

"Okay. Nephilim meeting, shoot."

Stiles took a long sip from his tea while frowning at the fae. "I already told you about that." Derek was sitting quietly on the armchair beside him, his eyes not particularly focused on anything. He wondered briefly why the werewolf needed to be there, but was relieved that he was, even though he wasn't going to analyze that particular feeling too closely. Facing Cleo after the recent events with the tortured witch wasn't exactly very comfortable for him.

"I like working with details, Stiles, details that you haven't told me yet." She said patiently, her eyes lazily trailing between him and Derek. The boy only sighed and leaned forward to put his cup on the giant desk in the room, not wanting to risk spilling tea everywhere if he got too heated up in his explanations. That was a frequent reoccurring theme and he honestly didn't want a 200-something old fae gutting him because he ruined her ancient gold-sewed rug.

"Like I said, it's almost certain it comes from my mother's side. He explained to me a bit about Nephilims, and also gave me some pointers to research more about them. It doesn't seem I have enough angel blood in me to affect me physically, so thankfully I'm still plain ol' human."

"So, apart from your sudden understanding of a supernatural language, everything is fine." She said from above her cup, nodding slightly.

"Yeah." Stiles cleared his throat, barely noticing his fingers were picking at the fabric of the armchair. "Though it's still possible I have a more increased susceptibility to magic." She nodded at him again, but Derek kept being silent beside him. "Deaton mentioned some time ago I have a spark. I figured that's what he actually meant, even though I imagine he didn't know about the more supernatural part of me."

"Most likely." Her eyes seemed to zoom out for a moment before she smiled at him. "Did he tell you "you need to believe" in that cryptic voice of his?" At that Stiles couldn't help but let a small laugh and he heard Derek scoff, making him smile at the fae in return.

"Deaton's cool, but he's, I don't know, weird. I guess." He scratched at the back of his head, his limbs feeling increasingly heavier by the second. Cleo just shrugged in his direction, but she was no longer paying attention to them. "They all are." She muttered and both Stiles and Derek raised their eyebrows at her.

"Who, exactly, are "they"?" Derek spoke for the first time and Stiles couldn't help the small shiver that crept in his spine. Cleo only stared at him for a few moments before sighing heavily.

"I don't know how you are still alive." She told the werewolf and rolled her eyes at them. "He's a sorcerer, how didn't you catch up on that?" Derek only stared at her and Stiles was sure his mouth was a bit ajar at the sudden new information.

"He doesn't feel like one." Derek countered, his brows knitted together. "Doesn't even smell like one. The magic I caught scent of was very weak."

Stiles was under the vague impression the conversation was slipping away from him, but he couldn't find it in himself to care too much about it. The voices around him were soothing, making his everything feel light and his surroundings feel more and more blurry.

"I guess I can't hold it against you, he's a human sorcerer after all. But he's good, he's very good. Wouldn't still be in the business if he wasn't." Cleo said, even though she was eyeing Stiles carefully as the teen kept blinking. "It's not your fault you didn't realize it." Derek shrugged at her, even though his eyes were also plastered on the boy beside him. His muscles were feeling a bit limp and he fought back a yawn. He heard Cleo making a small noise that sounded suspiciously like a giggle, but when he turned to look at her, her eyes were darting from him to Stiles in a manner that said it was obvious what he had to do. He realized soon enough he wasn't quite picking up her weird suggestions when he heard her let out an almost painful sigh.

"The tea did its job, so what are you waiting for?" She sounded almost impatient. "Take him, tuck him in and make sure he's comfortable." She ventured a hand towards the door and Derek wanted to protest, wanted to say something, anything to her, but his thoughts were too jumbled up to even know what he wanted for sure, so he shrugged in her direction, picked Stiles up carefully and left the library, not bothering to give Cleo another look.

"Idiots." The fae found herself muttering after the two left the library, rolling her eyes and letting herself fall back in the chair she was occupying, eyes staring at the ceiling. "Were we like this?" She whispered before she could stop herself, a small smile playing with the corner of her lips as she sighed heavily in the silent room. She wasn't expecting an answer anyway.

* * *

When Stiles woke up, he felt his whole body light as a feather. The room was warm and the bed was comfortable and when he stretched his bones popped pleasantly with the kind of soft ache he didn't feel in weeks. He wasn't sure how, but he managed to get a good and full night's sleep for the first time in at least a month. Sighing happily, he rolled over, hoping for at least a few more minutes of blissful peace, when his body hit the warm spot on the bed. A warm spot that was definitely not made by him, and that made him jump awake and quickly take in his surroundings. He just knew his eyes went comically wide when he recognized the place.

He was at Cleo's house, which wouldn't be a very big deal, considering half the pack was already living here, but.

He was in Derek's room. More importantly, in Derek's _bed_. With no idea how he ended up there. He was surprised he didn't brain himself on his fumbled way to the door, yanking it open with more force than necessary and almost falling on his ass. He stared at the empty corridor, his brain not wanting to process more than "I slept in Derek Hale's bed, most likely with Derek Hale himself". Still in a fit of panic, he made his way to the last door, knowing Cleo's bedroom was a safe place to panic even more since none of the werewolves could enter it, before the shower he heard running when he got out of the room would stop.

His breath caught a little in his throat and he was sure he made some kind of whiny noise when his eyes landed on the still half-naked fae that was shooting him amused looks, but he still closed her door nonetheless, letting himself fall on the floor. He was sure at first she wanted to laugh at him, but when she realized his breathing wouldn't calm down anytime soon, she hurriedly put on some jeans and was down on her knees in front of him in a matter of seconds.

"Are you…" Her voice was unsure, even a little worried, and her hands hovered and fumbled in the air a bit, the dark purple marks that covered them a sharp contrast with the cadaveric white her skin had when she wasn't wearing her medallion. "Are you having a panic attack?"

He wanted to laugh at that, he even managed to get out a giggle of sorts, because a two century old supernatural creature knew what a panic attack was, but then her hands landed on his arms, still unsure, and her face was contorted with worry and his laugh died on his lips. "Okay. Okay, Stiles, just breathe with me, okay? Slowly, in and out." He listened to her voice, soothing, calm voice that still sounded a little eerie and otherworldly, but he managed to calm down nonetheless.

"What happened?" Her thumbs were making slow circles on his arms, leaving a cold and unfamiliar trace, and for a moment he realized he should be afraid of the creature that tried to comfort him, should not find those blood eyes so peaceful and full of worry, should stay away from her, from every single one of her pointed and sharp teeth and those prolonged nails, but found out he couldn't. She was familiar somehow and it was something he found out he needed right now.

"I think I slept with Derek? I mean, not _sleep_ slept, but like literally slept with him? In the same bed, for possibly the whole night. I don't really know how, but that's what all the evidence is pointing at and it might have panicked me a little because this is _Derek_ we're talking about, okay? I know everyone's gotten more touchy and all, you know, pack-like, but it still feels weird having everyone touch me, I mean sure, Scott, no problem, I even got more accustomed with Isaac, and even Allison and Lydia picked that up, but Derek? Derek's never been a touchy kind of guy, I mean not that I know of, and now…"

He was interrupted when Cleo placed a hand of his mouth, not applying a lot of pressure and letting go almost instantly with a smile tugging at her lips and her eyes lit with amusement. "Breathe." She told him again and then got up, offering him a hand and not letting go when he gladly accepted it.

"I gave you both sleeping herbs last night, with the tea." She told him, even though she didn't seem the least bit guilty about it. "You, especially, needed it, but him also. He might have been only half conscious when he brought you both to his room. And he is touchy, he just…" She waved a hand, looking like she wasn't sure how to explain it while Stiles was giving her his best glare. "He's been deprived from human contact for a long time. It's natural he craves it. You shouldn't panic about that." She eyed him suspiciously after that as a small smirk was forming on her face. "How did you sleep?"

"Great, actually, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"Oh, so no nightmares?" She asked again, tone a bit too innocent for Stiles' liking. "None." He answered honestly, since he was half sure she could tell as well when he was lying.

"See? No need to panic. He did you good." The fae told him with a brilliant smile that revealed all her sharp teeth. He only managed to get more baffled. "What are you talking about?"

"The tea I gave you was to help you sleep faster, not better. It didn't have any effect on your nightmares. Sleeping with Derek did." She threw him another smile and then took him by his shoulders and pushed him in the direction of the other door her room had. "Think about that. You can use my shower, I'll fetch you some clothes and put them on the bed. Towels are on the right stand." She nudged him again and trailed off, shouting a "think about that" again as she closed the door.

* * *

**this took forever because of reasons (actually no, i had no reasons other than i was busy with life in general and when i wasn't i didn't have any desire to write anything) you know, _reasons_**


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